US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Ties to Iranian Regime

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of a broader effort to disrupt financial networks connected to Iran. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. In a statement, Bessent said that the US will 'follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime' as part of a campaign known as 'Economic Fury.' This move follows an action taken by Tether, which blacklisted two blockchain addresses holding $344 million in USDT. A US official stated that the sanctioned wallets have been linked to the Iranian regime through transactions with Iranian exchanges and intermediary addresses connected to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. The Treasury Department has noted that Iran's central bank has been using digital assets in an attempt to conceal cross-border transactions. Authorities have observed that Iran has been increasingly relying on cryptocurrency 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, and has also sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., accusing it of playing a significant role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and work with financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.