The United States has expanded its crackdown on Iranian financial networks, this time targeting on-chain stablecoin assets. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant confirmed that the U.S. has frozen four wallets linked to Iran, involving approximately $131 million in USDT; these wallets are deployed on the Tron network.
Four Tron wallets were frozen.
These assets were initially identified on-chain by investigator Specter. Specter subsequently confirmed that the four wallets were linked to the Central Bank of Iran. According to reports, this freeze was not an isolated action, but rather part of US sanctions against Iran's financial channels.
The report noted that U.S. officials stated the enforcement objective was to cut off Iran's channels for funding military activities and other illicit activities using digital assets. Simultaneously with this asset freeze, the U.S. is also advancing blockade measures against Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command also announced a new round of military strikes against Iran.
Iran stated that its military launched a drone strike against US military facilities at the Azraq airbase in Jordan. The freezing of crypto assets is therefore being viewed within the broader context of the US-Iran confrontation.
In April, $344 million in USDT was frozen.
This is not the first time the US has requested the freezing of stablecoin assets linked to Iran. Reports indicate that Tether froze over $344 million in USDT in April at the request of US authorities. The company has also cooperated with law enforcement in the past to block wallets allegedly involved in sanctions circumvention, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities.
- April: Over $344 million in USDT frozen
- May: The US claims it has seized approximately $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets.
- July: Approximately $131 million USDT was frozen again.
The United States includes crypto assets in its sanctions tools.
This operation is a continuation of "Operation Economic Fury," launched by the United States in March 2025. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, this operation aims to dismantle the financial and procurement networks that Iran relies on to acquire weapons and support military operations.
In a June statement, Bessant said the U.S. Treasury Department had frozen Iranian assets and cracked down on financial networks supporting its military system. He also stated that the Treasury Department would continue to investigate all entities providing financial support to the Iranian regime, including individuals and entities that use cryptocurrencies to transfer or conceal funds.
As the use of stablecoins in cross-border transfers expands, the US is also intensifying its enforcement of sanctions against on-chain assets. This freeze on USDT wallets demonstrates that cooperation between stablecoin issuers and US law enforcement agencies continues.
