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Sanctions target Iranian-linked crypto platforms tied to IRGC
TRM Labs traced more than $6.3 billion through Shelbit-linked wallets over 23 months, with monthly volume rising to over $600 million for six straight months in 2025.
CryptoSlate reports that U.S. authorities sanctioned Shelbit and Aban Tether, two Iranian-linked crypto platforms accused of facilitating transactions tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other state-linked entities. The Treasury Department also sanctioned Shelbit founder Siavash Kayvanpour and several connected companies in Georgia, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. action highlighted fund flows involving IRGC-linked wallets and Shelbit addresses. According to the sanctions materials described in the report, IRGC-linked wallets sent more than $1 million to Shelbit addresses, while more than $2 million flowed in the opposite direction, and Kayvanpour-controlled wallets sent more than $2 million to Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange.
CryptoSlate says blockchain analysis by TRM Labs traced more than $6.3 billion through Shelbit-linked wallets over 23 months between May 2024 and March 2026. TRM found that activity accelerated sharply, with monthly volume rising from single-digit millions in 2024 to more than $600 million for six consecutive months in the second half of 2025, including about $735 million in November.
The report also details the operational pattern TRM observed, including the lack of customer-custody behavior typically seen on exchanges. Across high-volume addresses, incoming and outgoing amounts matched within 0.1%, virtually no residual holdings were found, and wallet cycles appeared every one to four months, with limited use of mixing services across the $6.3 billion network.