{"id":7476,"date":"2026-05-29T20:16:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/u-s-treasury-the-united-states-has-seized-nearly-1-billion-of-irans-crypto\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:16:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:16:40","slug":"u-s-treasury-the-united-states-has-seized-nearly-1-billion-of-irans-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/u-s-treasury-the-united-states-has-seized-nearly-1-billion-of-irans-crypto\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Treasury: The United States Has Seized Nearly $1 Billion of Iran\u2019s Crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. Treasury: The United States Has Seized Nearly $1 Billion of Iran\u2019s Crypto<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency as part of a broader campaign to choke off Tehran\u2019s financial networks.<\/p>\n

The disclosures come amid one of the most intense military confrontations the Middle East has seen in decades.<\/p>\n

On February 27, 2026, the U.S. and Israel launched<\/a> Operation Epic Fury \u2014 a coordinated airstrike campaign targeting Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and Revolutionary Guard command centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes across the region, hitting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Iraq. A fragile ceasefire was brokered in early April and is still in the works, but the economic war never stopped.<\/p>\n

Enter Operation Economic Fury. Ordered by President Trump and executed by the Treasury Department, the campaign is designed to systematically dismantle every financial lifeline Tehran has left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since its launch, OFAC has sanctioned<\/a> over 1,000 Iran-linked entities, frozen bank accounts held by Revolutionary Guard-affiliated businesses, and \u2014 according to Bessent \u2014 reached directly into crypto wallets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The largest single action came in late April, when Tether confirmed it froze<\/a> $344 million in USDT across two Tron blockchain addresses linked to the IRGC, after blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis identified on-chain patterns consistent with known Iranian military wallets. One wallet held roughly $213 million; the other, $131 million.<\/p>\n

The total seizure figure has since climbed past $500 million \u2014 and Bessent\u2019s most recent comments suggest the running total is approaching $1 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will track the funds that Tehran is urgently attempting to transfer abroad and target all financial avenues linked to the regime,\u201d Bessent said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

JUST IN: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. Government has seized $1 billion of Iran’s crypto:<\/p>\n

“Just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet had been grabbed.” pic.twitter.com\/ayaGlfcRws<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 29, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Bitcoin as a means of payment in Iran<\/h2>\n

Back in April, Iran reportedly<\/a> planned to require ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit tolls in Bitcoin during a temporary ceasefire with the U.S.<\/p>\n

The policy aimed to bypass sanctions and traditional banking rails, giving Iran a way to collect revenue while maintaining control over a critical global oil chokepoint.<\/p>\n

The move pushed bitcoin into a geopolitical spotlight, raising operational and legal risks for shipping firms while highlighting how digital assets could be used in sovereign-controlled trade routes.<\/p>\n

This post U.S. Treasury: The United States Has Seized Nearly $1 Billion of Iran\u2019s Crypto<\/a> first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine<\/a> and is written by Micah Zimmerman<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine U.S. Treasury: The United States Has Seized Nearly $1 Billion of Iran\u2019s Crypto Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency as part of a broader campaign to choke off Tehran\u2019s financial networks. The disclosures come amid one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digkrypton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}