US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing 'Economic Fury' Against Iranian Regime

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 sanctioned 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 connected to the Iranian regime as part of its 'Economic Fury' campaign. This development follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, which held a combined total of $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 its cross-border transactions. As the US increases pressure on Iran, authorities have noted that the country has been using more 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. In a related move, the US sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., accusing the China-based refineries of playing a significant role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.