US Freezes $344 Million in Tether's USDT, Citing Iranian Regime Ties

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of a broader effort to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned several crypto wallets tied to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. The move is part of a campaign known as 'Economic Fury', aimed at targeting all financial channels supporting the Iranian regime. This follows an action by Tether, which blacklisted two blockchain addresses holding $344 million in USDT. A US official stated that the sanctioned wallets had significant links to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and connections to the Central Bank of Iran. The Treasury Department noted that Iran has been increasingly using digital assets to disguise cross-border transactions and bypass restrictions. To counter this, the US is working with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions to track and disrupt illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities, including the use of digital assets and traditional front companies.