US Treasury Freezes $131 Million in Iran-Linked Crypto Wallets
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to Iran’s Central Bank and the IRGC, and Tether froze more than $131 million in USDT across four Tron addresses. Treasury also sanctioned seven people linked to an Iranian weapons procurement network, including suppliers and intermediaries in Tehran, Nigeria, and Russia. The frozen wallets were traced on-chain to funds moving through services like DTC Pay and Bitso. The action shows how Iran’s use of crypto to bypass sanctions remains vulnerable: USDT can be frozen at the issuer level, and public blockchains leave transactions traceable for law enforcement. Iran has used Bitcoin mining and USDT to support trade and protect the rial, but U.S. agencies have increasingly targeted exchanges, wallets, and facilitators. This freeze is part of Operation Economic Fury, following earlier freezes and sanctions against Iran’s major exchanges and broader Iranian crypto infrastructure.
