US plans to seize $1B in crypto linked to Iran this week: Scott Bessent
The Treasury Department has announced several digital asset seizures related to sanctions on Iran as part of US sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States plans to seize approximately $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency linked to Iran this week as part of ongoing sanctions against the country. The planned digital asset seizure came during the Newsmax NPolicy Summit and was described as a strategy to economically isolate Iran following the country's recent military conflict, which began in February.
Bessent did not specify whether the targeted assets were tied to specific exchanges or if they were a result of intervention by stablecoin issuers. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had previously targeted crypto exchanges that facilitated the transfer of funds to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, back in August.
At the time, Bessent stated that the US aimed to increase economic pressure on Iran by focusing on financial networks that support the regime, whether in dollars, rials, or cryptocurrency. The assertion of seizing $500 million of crypto linked to Iran was also made in an April interview with Bessent. In September, stablecoin issuer Tether reported that it had frozen $550 million worth of USDt (USDT) in 2026 as part of US authorities' sanctions on Iran, with $344 million frozen in April alone.
Written by urgent.news from Cointelegraph's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.