US Treasury to Seize $1B in Crypto Tied to Iran: Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced at the Newsmax Policy Summit on Thursday that the government is preparing to seize approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to Iran, marking a major escalation in Washington's digital asset enforcement efforts. "We know where it is, and we are isolating them," Bessent told Newsmax's Greta Van Susteren, framing the seizure as part of a broader strategy to economically isolate Tehran amid the ongoing military conflict that began in February.

The planned seizure follows a series of actions by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which in August began targeting crypto exchanges facilitating fund transfers to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Bessent confirmed at the time that the US aimed to "increase the economic pressure" on Iran, specifically targeting financial networks funding the regime "in dollars, rials, or crypto." The Treasury Secretary made a similar disclosure in April, claiming authorities had already seized $500 million in crypto tied to Iranian entities.

Stablecoin issuer Tether has played a growing role in these enforcement actions, reporting in September that it froze $550 million worth of USDt (USDT) in 2026 as part of US sanctions on Iran, including $344 million in April alone. Bessent did not clarify whether the upcoming $1 billion seizure targets specific exchanges or stems from intervention by stablecoin issuers, leaving the operational details of the crackdown unclear.

The move underscores the increasing use of blockchain analytics and stablecoin compliance tools as instruments of US foreign policy. As crypto becomes more deeply embedded in cross-border sanctions enforcement, the Treasury's latest action signals that digital asset networks remain firmly within the regulatory perimeter, regardless of jurisdiction or platform.