The US Treasury is tracking and freezing Iran's crypto holdings, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Authorities are reportedly preparing to seize around $1 billion in assets tied to the IRGC, while Tether has frozen approximately $550 million in USDT linked to Iranian addresses.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US is tracking Iran's crypto holdings and freezing them. Authorities are reportedly preparing to seize around $1 billion in Iranian digital assets tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Operation Economic Outcast extends sanctions to digital assets
The effort sits under a sanctions push called "Operation Economic Outcast," announced on August 24, 2026. The campaign extended Iran sanctions into digital assets, alongside more familiar targets like shipping and aviation.
Bessent said authorities are isolating funds they had already identified. The estimated total, drawn from various seizure efforts, ranges from hundreds of millions of dollars to around $1 billion.
Timing has shifted. On October 9, 2026, Bessent said the US would probably seize $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto that week.
Tether freezes about $550 million in USDT
Next, the Treasury has designated several Iranian exchanges and is coordinating with stablecoin issuers to freeze accounts connected to those entities. Tether, issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has frozen approximately $550 million in USDT linked to Iranian addresses, mostly over the course of 2026.
The freezes came in large chunks. Tether reported locking approximately $344 million in USDT in April 2026 over links to Iran. In July 2026, it froze more than $130 million in USDT connected to Iran's Central Bank.
On the exchange side, the Treasury has sanctioned multiple Iran-linked digital asset platforms since June 2026. On September 17, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated BitBank, an exchange controlled by Babak Zanjani, for helping facilitate Bitcoin payments to the Iranian regime.
Open questions on the seizure
Two questions remain. The first is whether the roughly $1 billion seizure that Bessent described as probable closes, and how much of it is recovered. The second is whether additional exchanges join BitBank on OFAC's list as Operation Economic Outcast develops.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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