US Treasury, Tether Freezes $131M in Crypto Tied to Iran

The US Treasury ordered over $130 million in USDT frozen from wallets tied to Iran’s central bank as Middle East hostilities intensified.

US Treasury, Tether Freezes $131M in Crypto Tied to Iran

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Written by

Felix Ng

staff editor

Reviewed by

Felix Ng

staff editor

Written by

Felix Ng

staff editor

Reviewed by

Felix Ng

staff editor

US freezes $131M in Iran-linked crypto as Middle East tensions rise

Latest News

Published

Jul 15, 2026

“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the US government ordered the freezing of more than $130 million in cryptocurrency held in wallets linked to Iran on Tuesday, as hostilities ramped up in the Middle East.

Earlier on Tuesday, blockchain investigator Specter pointed to onchain data showing Tether froze four Tron wallets holding $131 million worth of USDt (USDT). Bessent confirmed on X that the wallets were

tied to the Central Bank of Iran

.

“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” Bessent said Tuesday. “We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.”

The asset freeze comes amid a collapse in the ceasefire between the US and Iran. The US said it has renewed its blockade of Iranian ports, while the US military’s Central Command announced a new wave of strikes on Iran. Meanwhile, Iran’s military claimed on Tuesday that it carried out drone strikes against US military facilities at Jordan’s Al Azraq Air Base.

Source:

Scott Bessent

The move follows a similar freeze in April, when stablecoin issuer Tether confirmed it had frozen more than $344 million in USDT at the

request of US authorities

.

In May, Bessent

said

the US has seized around $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets as part of the US financial pressure campaign against Iran known as Operation Economic Fury, which launched in March 2025.

Related:

Iran-linked entities moved $3.8B through CoinEx, TRM says

“Through Economic Fury, the Treasury Department is disrupting the foreign procurement networks that support the Iranian military’s efforts to acquire weapons,” Bessent said in a statement in June.

“Treasury has frozen the Iranian regime’s assets, severely disrupted its economy, and dismantled the Iranian war machine. Treasury will not tolerate any support of the Iranian military.”

Magazine:

Thai scammer’s $122M wallet, Japan embraces crypto credit: Asia Express

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Iran

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