US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Iran's Use of Crypto to Evade Sanctions

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of its efforts to disrupt Iran's financial networks. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to Iran, resulting in the freeze of the funds. Bessent stated that the US will target all financial channels supporting the Iranian regime, as part of its broader 'Economic Fury' campaign. The move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses holding $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 the Central Bank of Iran. The Iranian government has been increasingly using digital assets to conceal its cross-border transactions, and the US is taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets to bypass restrictions. The Treasury Department's OFAC is working with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities, and has also sanctioned a China-based refinery for its role in Iran's oil economy.