US Freezes $344 Million in 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 connected to Iran. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on multiple cryptocurrency wallets linked 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 tied to the Iranian regime, as part of a broader initiative known as 'Economic Fury'. This move follows an action taken by Tether, a stablecoin issuer, which blacklisted two blockchain addresses on the Tron network holding a total of $344 million in USDT. A US official revealed that the sanctioned wallets had significant ties 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 stated 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 intensifying its efforts against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets, according to the official. Additionally, the US sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., a China-based independent refinery, for its significant role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and coordinate with financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, to track illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.