US Treasury freezes $130M in Iran-linked crypto wallets
The US Treasury has sanctioned and frozen over $130 million in crypto wallets tied to Iran's central bank, underscoring the growing role of stablecoins in state-level financial enforcement.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, locking up more than $130 million in digital assets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the action on Tuesday, framing it as a strike against the country's exploitation of digital assets for illicit financial activities.
The enforcement action materialized on the Tron network through Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin. Onchain analyst Specter reported that Tether froze four Tron wallets holding a combined $131 million in USDT just minutes before Bessent's public announcement. Specter noted that these addresses were connected to both the Central Bank of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to Specter, the frozen funds had recently been withdrawn from payment service provider DTC Pay and cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. This flow of capital demonstrates how state-sponsored entities have attempted to leverage commercial crypto infrastructure to move value across borders despite heavy traditional banking sanctions.
For market professionals, the seizure highlights a critical structural reality of the digital asset sector. While cryptocurrencies are often associated with censorship resistance, major stablecoins like USDT operate with centralized control mechanisms. Because Tether can blacklist addresses at the base layer, these tokens function as highly enforceable instruments, making them a direct conduit for US sanctions policy.
The involvement of commercial crypto businesses in these state-sponsored fund flows presents clear compliance risks. The movement of $131 million through DTC Pay and Bitso before being frozen underscores the immense pressure on exchanges and payment processors to screen for sanctioned entities. Institutions operating in the space must now treat sanctions compliance as a primary risk management function.
Tuesday's action is part of a sharp escalation in USDT seizures by US authorities. In April, Tether assisted in freezing more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses after US authorities flagged them for illicit activity.
The scale of Tether's compliance operations has grown rapidly in parallel. The company stated in April that it collaborates with over 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has supported more than 2,300 global investigations. To date, Tether has frozen more than $4.4 billion in assets, with over $2.1 billion tied directly to US authorities.
The aggressive posture from Washington signals that digital asset platforms should expect continued regulatory scrutiny. "We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes," Bessent said.
