Bessent Says US May Seize $1 Billion in Iran-Linked Crypto

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. authorities would probably seize about $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to Iran during the week of October 9, describing the planned action as part of efforts to isolate the country economically. The supplied reporting does not confirm that the seizure was completed. Bessent made the remarks Thursday at the NPolicy Summit in Washington, in an interview with Greta Van Susteren. He said authorities knew where the assets were and were isolating them. His wording described a likely action, not a completed seizure, and he did not identify the cryptocurrency, wallets, exchanges or people involved, or explain how authorities would take control of the assets. The proposed action comes amid U.S. sanctions and other measures targeting financial networks and cryptocurrency activity linked to Iran. In August, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it was targeting exchanges accused of facilitating transfers to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In September, the department sanctioned the Iranian exchange BitBank over alleged transfers involving the group.