US Freezes $344 Million in Tether's USDT, Citing Iran Sanctions

In its latest move to disrupt Iran's financial networks, the US Treasury Department has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency. The freeze is part of a broader campaign, dubbed 'Economic Fury', aimed at choking off the regime's access to funds. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. The US is seeking to track and disrupt the flow of money that Tehran is attempting to move outside of the country, targeting all financial lifelines tied to the regime. This move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a combined $344 million in USDT. A US official revealed that the sanctioned wallets had significant links 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 increasingly using digital assets to conceal cross-border transactions. Authorities have noted that Iran has turned to 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, while also sanctioning companies like Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. for their role in Iran's oil economy. 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.