Tether's $344 million USDT freeze linked to U.S. 'Economic Fury' against Iran regime

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is seeking to choke off "all financial lifelines" for the regime.

What to know:

• This week's large U.S. freeze of tether was tied to the federal government's effort to squeeze Iran's finances, the Treasury Department confirmed.
• U.S. authorities said that Iran's central bank has been trying to mask cross-border activity through the use of digital assets.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday that a $344 million cryptocurrency freeze is part of its latest effort to disrupt financial networks tied to Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an X post that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency.

"We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime," Bessent said, adding the effort is part of a broader campaign dubbed "Economic Fury."

The post follows action taken Thursday by stablecoin issuer Tether blacklisting two blockchain addresses on Tron holding $344 million in USDT altogether.

The company did not return a request for comment.

A U.S. official told CoinDesk that the sanctioned wallets showed material links to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and routing through intermediary addresses connected to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. According to the Treasury Department, Iran's central bank has been leaning into digital assets to try to mask its cross-border transactions.

Authorities said Iran has increasingly turned to crypto to bypass restrictions, using more complex transaction patterns to obscure its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure.

Treasury's OFAC is trying to turn up the pressure by moving aggressively against both the traditional front companies and the use of digital assets, the official said. Meanwhile, it sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. on Friday, accusing the China-based independent refineries of playing a major role in Iran’s oil economy.

The U.S. agency said it continues to work with blockchain analytics firms and maintains coordination with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, as it tracks illicit flows tied to sanctioned entities.

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