The US Treasury Department has taken a new step to impose sanctions on cryptocurrency wallets believed to be linked to Iran. Under the decision by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department, numerous cryptocurrency wallets with Iranian connections have been added to the sanctions list, and digital assets worth over $130 million have been frozen.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the wallets in question were linked to the Central Bank of Iran, adding that this step was part of efforts to prevent the country’s illicit financial activities. Bessent alleged that Iran was using digital assets to circumvent sanctions and manage its illegal income, emphasizing that the U.S. was determined to cut off this revenue stream.
The latest sanctions decision follows a series of large-scale asset freezes targeting cryptocurrency wallets linked to OFAC sanctions in recent months. In April, stablecoin issuer Tether announced its support for freezing over $344 million worth of USDT held on two Tron network addresses that US authorities have linked to illegal activity.
Tether states that it cooperates with more than 340 law enforcement agencies in 65 countries worldwide and has supported over 2,300 investigations to date. The company also stated that it has frozen over $4.4 billion in digital assets, with more than $2.1 billion of that amount done at the request of US authorities.
Meanwhile, Specter, an on-chain analytics platform, reported that shortly before Treasury Secretary Bessent’s announcement, Tether froze approximately $131 million worth of USDT in four wallets on the Tron network. According to the analysis, these addresses are believed to be linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Central Bank of Iran.
While it is alleged that a large portion of the funds were withdrawn through payment service provider DTC Pay and cryptocurrency exchange Bitso, official details regarding the reasoning behind the blacklisting decision have not yet been shared. Experts state that this development shows that blockchain technology is beginning to be used more effectively in enforcement actions.
This is not investment advice.
