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, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that the US aims to sever all financial ties to the regime. The freeze is part of a broader initiative, dubbed 'Economic Fury', which targets the flow of money that Tehran is attempting to move outside of the country. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. This action follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a combined total of $344 million in USDT. According to a US official, the sanctioned wallets showed significant connections to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and intermediary addresses linked to the Central Bank of Iran. The Iranian central bank has been increasingly using digital assets to conceal its cross-border transactions. Authorities have noted that Iran has been turning to crypto to circumvent restrictions, utilizing complex transaction patterns to obscure its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure. The Treasury's OFAC is intensifying its efforts against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. The US agency is working closely with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.