US Freezes $344 Million in Tether's USDT, Citing 'Economic Fury' Against Iranian Regime

The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that it has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency as part of its efforts to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is imposing sanctions on multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. In a statement, Bessent said that the US will track and target all financial channels linked to the regime, as part of a broader campaign known as 'Economic Fury'. This move comes after Tether, a stablecoin issuer, blacklisted two blockchain addresses on Tron holding $344 million in USDT. A US official stated 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 using digital assets to conceal its cross-border transactions. Authorities claim that Iran has been increasingly using crypto 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 Office of Foreign Assets Control is taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets, according to the official. Additionally, the US sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical, a China-based independent refinery, for its role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency is working with blockchain analytics firms and coordinating with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.