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'. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned several crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. Bessent stated that the US will track and target all financial channels tied to the Iranian regime, as it attempts to move funds out of the country. The move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a combined $344 million in USDT. According to a US official, 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 claim that Iran has been increasingly relying on crypto to circumvent restrictions, using complex transaction patterns to obscure its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure. The OFAC is intensifying its efforts against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets, with the official adding that the agency is working with blockchain analytics firms and coordinating with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.