US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Iran Regime's Financial Network

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it had frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of its efforts to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had imposed sanctions on multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. In a statement, Bessent said, 'We will track the money that Tehran is trying to move out of the country and target all financial channels connected to the regime,' as part of a broader campaign known as 'Economic Fury.' This move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a total of $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 Treasury Department noted that Iran's central bank has been using digital assets to conceal its cross-border transactions. Authorities stated 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's OFAC is taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. Additionally, the US sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., accusing the China-based refinery of playing a significant role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, to track illicit flows linked to sanctioned entities.