The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it was freezing $344 million in cryptocurrencies as part of its latest efforts to disrupt financial networks linked to Iran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an
“We will track Tehran’s desperate attempts to move money abroad and target all financial lifelines associated with the regime,” Bessant said, adding that the effort was part of a broader campaign called “economic rage.”
This comes after stablecoin issuer Tether took action on Thursday to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron that hold a combined $344 million in USDT.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
A U.S. official told CoinDesk that the sanctioned wallets showed significant ties to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and routing through intermediary addresses linked to wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran. According to the Ministry of Finance, Iran’s central bank has been leaning towards digital assets in an attempt to conceal its cross-border transactions.
Authorities say Iran is increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies to get around restrictions, using more complex transaction models to disguise its involvement in cross-border payments and support trade flows under sanctions pressure.
The official said OFAC, the Treasury Department, is trying to increase pressure by aggressively cracking down on traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. Meanwhile, Iran on Friday sanctioned the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) refinery, accusing the Chinese independent refinery of playing an important role in Iran’s oil economy.
The U.S. agency said it will continue to work with blockchain analytics companies and coordinate with financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, to track illicit financial flows related to sanctioned entities.