US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Iran Sanctions and 'Economic Fury' Campaign

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