US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Iran Sanctions and 'Economic Fury' Campaign

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of a broader initiative to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. Bessent stated that the US will track and target all financial channels connected to the Iranian regime, as part of a campaign dubbed 'Economic Fury'. This move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a combined 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 attempting to use digital assets to conceal its cross-border transactions. Authorities claim that Iran has been increasingly relying on cryptocurrency to circumvent 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. The US agency also sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., accusing the China-based independent refineries 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.