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 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. Bessent stated that the US will track and target all financial channels supporting the Iranian regime, as part of a campaign known as 'Economic Fury.' The 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 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 attempting to conceal its cross-border transactions by utilizing digital assets. Authorities claim that Iran has increasingly relied 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, while also sanctioning Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. for its alleged role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track illicit flows linked to sanctioned entities.