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

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of a broader effort to disrupt the financial networks supporting the Iranian regime. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on several cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. In a statement, Bessent explained that the US will track and target all financial channels tied to the Iranian regime as part of a campaign known as 'Economic Fury.' The move follows an action taken by Tether, a stablecoin issuer, which blacklisted two blockchain addresses holding $344 million in USDT on the Tron network. A US official revealed that the sanctioned wallets had significant connections to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and links to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. The Treasury Department noted that Iran's central bank has been utilizing digital assets in an attempt to conceal cross-border transactions. Authorities stated that Iran has increasingly relied on cryptocurrency to circumvent restrictions, employing complex transaction patterns to obscure its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure. The Treasury's OFAC is intensifying pressure by taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets, according to the official. In a related move, the Treasury 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 coordinate with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.