US Freezes $344 Million in Tether's USDT, Citing 'Economic Fury' Against Iran

In its latest move to disrupt Iranian financial networks, the US Treasury Department has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on several crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. Bessent stated that the US will track and target all financial channels tied to the Iranian regime as part of a broader initiative known as 'Economic Fury'. This development follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron holding $344 million in USDT. A US official revealed that the sanctioned wallets had significant ties to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and connections to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. The Iranian central bank has been attempting to use digital assets to conceal cross-border transactions. Authorities have noted that Iran has increasingly relied on crypto to bypass restrictions, using complex transaction patterns to obscure its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure. The Treasury Department's OFAC is taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. The US agency is working with blockchain analytics firms and coordinating with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.