The United States has seized approximately $1 billion in Iran's cryptocurrency assets, nearly double the government's previous estimate.
Speaking on Friday at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. believes Iran had been stealing about $400 to $500 million a month through sanctions evasion. "This is money that's been stolen from the Iranian people," Bessent said.
"I believe that we have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto," Bessent told Fox News' Larry Kudlow. "Just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize that their wallet has been grabbed."
On April 29, Bessent said the U.S. had seized "nearly $500 million" in Iranian crypto assets.
"We are freezing bank accounts everywhere. More importantly, we are making people less willing to deal with the regime," Bessent said at the time.
