US Treasury freezes $131 million in Iran-linked crypto

The United States has frozen more than $130 million in cryptocurrency linked to the Central Bank of Iran, the Treasury Department announced on July 14, as part of a widening financial and military pressure campaign against Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the action, stating that the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple digital wallets tied to the Iranian central bank, resulting in the freeze.

On-chain data analyzed by investigators showed four wallets on the Tron network holding approximately $131 million in the USDT stablecoin were immobilized. The stablecoin issuer Tether executed the freeze using controls built into its token at the request of U.S. authorities. In a statement, Bessent said the Treasury remains committed to disrupting Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets, and will continue to deny the regime access to proceeds from its revenue schemes.

This enforcement action is the latest in a series of moves targeting Iran’s use of digital assets to evade sanctions. It follows a significantly larger operation in April, when Tether froze about $344 million in USDT across two wallets linked to Iranian...