Crypto
Home›Crypto›Regulation›US freezes $131M in Iran-linked crypto amid Middle Eas…
US freezes $131M in Iran-linked crypto amid Middle East tensions
The freeze targets Tron wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, and follows a prior Tether action in April that involved more than $344 million in USDT.
Cointelegraph reports the US Treasury has ordered the freezing of more than $130 million in cryptocurrency held in wallets linked to Iran as tensions in the Middle East escalate.
Cointelegraph adds that blockchain investigator Specter cited on chain data indicating Tether froze four Tron wallets holding $131 million worth of USDt, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the wallets were tied to the Central Bank of Iran.
Bessent said the Treasury is focused on disrupting Iran’s illicit financial activity, including its use of digital assets, and reiterated that the US will continue to follow the money to deny Iran access to proceeds from alleged schemes.
Cointelegraph notes the freeze comes after a similar action in April, when Tether confirmed it froze more than $344 million in USDT at the request of US authorities, and that Bessent previously said the US has seized around $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets as part of a campaign described as Operation Economic Fury.