The US government has frozen nearly $500 million in cryptocurrency assets tied to Iranian financial networks, marking one of the largest digital asset seizures targeting a sanctioned nation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the milestone on April 29, framing it as a critical escalation in Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Tehran.
The seizures fall under “Operation Economic Fury,” an initiative launched by President Donald Trump in March 2025 that specifically targets Iran’s use of crypto channels to evade sanctions and move money across borders.
How the freeze unfolded
The operation’s most significant single action came from an unlikely enforcement partner: Tether. The stablecoin issuer froze more than $344 million in USDT after the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran on April 24, 2026.
That $344 million freeze accounts for the bulk of the nearly $500 million total. The remaining balance came from additional wallet seizures and frozen bank accounts connected to Iranian interests.
