US says it may seize $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto as sanctions campaign widens

Bessent links crypto action to wider pressure on Iran

Bessent’s remarks came as Washington continued to expand sanctions activity tied to Iran. He said the possible crypto seizure would fit into a wider campaign aimed at cutting off channels that Tehran and related networks may use to move funds.

The Treasury secretary had already signaled on Sep. 3, according to Reuters’ account of his comments, that digital assets could face additional restrictions alongside airlines and maritime businesses. Treasury later launched Operation Economic Outcast on Aug. 24, extending sanctions authority over Iran’s digital asset sector and other parts of its economy.

Previous freezes show how the effort has been unfolding

Recent enforcement steps indicate that U.S. agencies and private issuers have already been working together on Iran-linked digital asset cases. On Sep. 28, Tether said it had frozen about $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026 in coordination with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and U.S. law enforcement.

Tether said more than $344 million was frozen across two addresses in April after U.S. authorities provided wallet information, and that OFAC added those addresses to the Central Bank of Iran’s sanctions entry the next day. In July, the company reported another freeze of more than $130 million across four TRON wallets after Treasury added those addresses to the same designation.

Court filings in September described a separate U.S. attempt to forfeit $61.2 million in USDT across ten TRON addresses that Tether had frozen in 2025. Those filings said a Sep. 14 warrant authorized the FBI to take custody of the tokens, while a civil forfeiture complaint sought government ownership. Prosecutors linked the funds to alleged Iranian oil proceeds.

Treasury has also targeted exchanges, firms and shipping

Treasury’s campaign has gone beyond wallet freezes. Under Operation Economic Outcast, the department said sanctions could reach foreign individuals and companies operating in or supporting covered sectors of Iran’s economy.

The department accused Russian national Yuri Obukhov of processing more than $100 million in cryptocurrency tied to Iranian oil sales since 2023, alleging that he worked with an IRGC-linked network that converted oil revenue into digital assets. Earlier, on Aug. 7, Treasury sanctioned two exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, as well as Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour and companies associated with him.

On Oct. 8, Treasury also sanctioned 17 vessels it said had transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products to South and East Asian markets. The department said the ships operated through registrations in more than a dozen jurisdictions and through international front companies. Treasury warned that non-U.S. firms facilitating Iranian money laundering or sanctions evasion could risk losing access to the U.S. financial system.

Researchers have traced large crypto flows tied to Iran

Blockchain analytics firms have published estimates showing the scale of Iran-related activity in the sector. Chainalysis said Iran’s crypto ecosystem handled more than $7.78 billion in activity during 2025, while noting that its figures were minimum estimates based only on identified addresses.

According to Chainalysis, addresses associated with the IRGC received more than $3 billion across 2025, up from more than $2 billion in 2024, and accounted for over half of the value received in the fourth quarter. TRM Labs separately reported more than $3.84 billion in blockchain flows between CoinEx and Iranian entities over more than seven years, including about 6.2 million transfers worth $2.7 billion between CoinEx and Nobitex.

TRM also said that from June 2025 through June 2026 it traced around $67 million from the Central Bank of Iran into CoinEx addresses on multiple blockchains. In a June 25 response, CoinEx denied any ties to the Iranian state and disputed the interpretation of aggregate transaction flows, saying it had no commercial relationship with Iranian government-linked entities, domestic exchanges, the IRGC or sanctioned parties.

Next step is whether the reported seizure takes place

For now, the clearest immediate development is Bessent’s statement that authorities could seize the identified crypto this week. No separate Treasury announcement detailing such a seizure had been described in the source material at the time of his remarks.

If that action proceeds, it would mark another escalation in the U.S. effort to use sanctions, wallet freezes, forfeiture actions and shipping designations to isolate alleged Iran-linked financial activity across both traditional and digital channels.