US freezes $130M IRGC crypto wallet amid Iran economic pressure campaign
The US Treasury has frozen a $130 million cryptocurrency wallet tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, using public blockchains to choke off regime funding as the country's traditional economy collapses.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the freeze of a $130 million cryptocurrency wallet tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday, Bessent framed the seizure as part of an "economic fury" campaign designed to squeeze the regime alongside a military blockade. Investigators claimed to have identified the "money man" for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and are actively tracing his global property holdings, which Bessent valued at over $100 million.
The targeted wallet is part of a broader Treasury campaign utilizing blockchain surveillance to intercept state funds during the ongoing regional conflict. While Iran relies on digital assets to bypass the traditional dollar system and monetize oil sales, the transparency of public ledgers ultimately provides Washington with a mechanism to trace and freeze value. Overall, the US has sanctioned Iran's largest crypto exchange and claimed to have seized $1 billion in Iranian digital assets.
Private sector actors have also participated in these interdictions. Stablecoin issuer Tether separately froze $344 million in USDT across two blockchain addresses tied to the IRGC, marking one of the largest single compliance actions to date. Blockchain analysts have tracked a sharp escalation in these on-chain flows, with IRGC-linked wallets receiving over $3 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion the prior year. The Treasury has not yet published formal documentation of the $130 million wallet freeze or the Ayatollah's property addresses.
The financial pressure campaign coincides with a severe macroeconomic deterioration within Iran. Bessent claimed the Iranian rial is at an all-time low against the dollar and characterized the economy as being in "freefall," citing an inflation rate upwards of 180 percent. This acknowledged currency collapse has reportedly driven a surge in domestic bitcoin adoption as residents attempt to move wealth out of the failing traditional banking system.
Tehran has simultaneously explored state-level cryptocurrency integration to sustain vital energy revenue. Reports indicate that Iran is accepting bitcoin from oil tankers as a $1 per barrel toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, converting control over a critical global oil chokepoint into direct settlement revenue.
