The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran's Central Bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday, with stablecoin issuer Tether freezing over $131 million across four addresses on the Tron blockchain. The sanctions targeted wallets used by entities under longstanding U.S. restrictions. The action is part of Operation Economic Fury, a broader campaign to disrupt Iran's use of digital assets to circumvent financial sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Confirms Sanctions and Weapons Network Enforcement
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the move in a post on X, stating the U.S. would "aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access" to illicit funds. Separately, the Treasury sanctioned seven individuals linked to a global weapons procurement network for the Iranian armed forces and IRGC. The sanctioned individuals include a Tehran-based drone parts supplier, a Nigerian intermediary, and Russian nationals tied to a Moscow aviation company.
On-chain analyst Specter on X identified the four frozen addresses before Bessent's announcement, tracing their links to both the IRGC and Iran's central bank. His analysis showed most of the funds had previously been withdrawn from DTC Pay, a payment service provider, and Bitso, a Latin American cryptocurrency exchange, before landing in the wallets OFAC ultimately sanctioned.
Blockchain Traceability Enables Wallet Freezing
USDT—a digital token issued by Tether pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar—runs on blockchains like Ethereum and Tron, outside the banking system Iran has been largely cut off from for years. Because Tether issues the token, it retains the ability to freeze specific wallet addresses at the software level, rendering the funds immovable.
Transactions on public networks like Tron are permanently visible, and U.S. agencies work alongside analytics firms to trace how money moves. TRM Labs' Ari Redford told Bloomberg in April that law enforcement can "track and trace the flow of funds to build cases—and potentially seize them" when actors try to cash out at regulated exchanges, which must comply with US rules. Redford said, "It has become this cat and mouse game between the IRGC financial facilitators and National Security (Agencies) to try to stop Iran from offraping."
Iran Built Crypto Infrastructure to Circumvent Sanctions
Iran has spent years building a crypto infrastructure to circumvent sanctions. The country legalized Bitcoin mining in 2019 and turned to USDT to stabilize a rial (its local fiat currency) in freefall and settle international trade. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis tracked nearly $8 billion in attributed Iranian crypto volume in 2026—TRM argues it's almost $10 billion—with IRGC-associated addresses accounting for more than half of the country's inflows in the final quarter of that year.
Operation Economic Fury Seized Roughly $1 Billion Since Campaign Began
Tuesday's freeze is the latest move in Operation Economic Fury. In April, Tether froze $344 million in USDT across two other Tron addresses tied to Iran's central bank. By May, Bessent said the U.S. had seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto total since the campaign began. In June, the Treasury sanctioned Iran's four largest exchanges, including Nobitex, which alone processed more than half of the country's digital asset volume in 2025.
Tether says it now works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has frozen more than $4.4 billion in assets since it began coordinating with authorities, including more than $2.1 billion tied to US enforcement actions.
FAQ
What did the U.S. Treasury do on Tuesday regarding Iran-linked crypto wallets?
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran's Central Bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday. Tether froze over $131 million across four addresses on the Tron blockchain as a result of the sanctions.
Why can Tether freeze cryptocurrency wallets?
Tether issues USDT, a digital token pegged to the U.S. dollar that runs on blockchains like Tron. Because Tether issues the token, it retains the ability to freeze specific wallet addresses at the software level, rendering the funds immovable. This technical control allows compliance with U.S. sanctions.
How much Iranian crypto has the U.S. seized under Operation Economic Fury?
By May, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. had seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto total since Operation Economic Fury began. This includes the $131 million frozen on Tuesday and a prior $344 million freeze in April.
