Sanctions

Iran entered the final night of February 2026 under a near-total internet shutdown. In the wake of a joint strike by the United States and Israel, Tehran almost completely severed the country's connection to the global internet — likely leaving only users on a government whitelist with access to the outside world.

Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, was founded by brothers linked to the powerful Kharrazi family, which has ties to the country’s supreme leaders.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto assets, surpassing the previously reported $344 million freeze.

The European Commission made its move in response to Russia's increasing reliance on crypto transactions to circumvent sanctions amid the country's war on Ukraine.

The announced crypto freeze came just one day after Tether said it had frozen $344 million of its USDt stablecoin in response to a request from US law enforcement.

A letter from US Senator Richard Blumenthal said he was concerned about “mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention by Binance.”

Binance filed a lawsuit after the Wall Street Journal reported a Justice Department probe into Iran’s alleged use of the exchange to avoid sanctions.

Crypto exchange Bithumb risks a partial business suspension for negligence around money laundering and customer verification practices, according to local media reports.

The crypto exchange responded to a Senate inquiry over sanctions by claiming that “no Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.“