The United States has seized nearly $500 million in cryptocurrency linked to Iran as part of an intensified economic pressure campaign, Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said describing the effort as pushing Tehran into a ‘crisis.’
Bessent said the seizures were carried out under ‘Operation Economic Fury,’ a broader U.S. strategy aimed at cutting off Iran’s access to financial networks and limiting its ability to move funds internationally.
MILESTONE | #Iran’s Move to Charge Strait of Hormuz #Crypto Tolls a ‘Significant Milestone’ for State Level Adoption, Says @chainalysis
From petro-dollar to petro-crypto
Iran’s reported move to charge crypto tolls on ships passing through the #StraitofHormuz marks a major…
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 11, 2026
Part of the frozen funds were in USDT when Tether froze over $340 million in coordiation with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement agencies in one of the largest enforcement actions involving the cryptocurrency to date.
MILESTONE | Tether Freezes Over $300 Million in USDT – The Largest on Record – in Coordination with U.S Law Enforcement
Under a maximum economic pressure campaign, Washington has been targeting digital wallets and financial channels tied to Iran, part of a wider sanctions regime designed to curb revenue streams linked to the government.
The campaign reportedly began in March 2025 leading to the collapse of the nation’s largest bank and massive inflation that saw the currency down by about 60-70% against the U.S dollar.
In early April 2026, Secretary Bessent revealed how they engineered the Iran Protests in early 2026 creating a dollar shortage in the country in order to drive the Iranian currency into free fall.
Weaponizing the #Dollar |
U.S Treasury Secretary reveals how they engineered the #IranProtests:
“We created a #dollar shortage in the country.
The Iranian currency went into free fall, inflation exploded, hence we saw the #Iranian people out on the streets.”
We will… pic.twitter.com/nGOzk2Rotk
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 9, 2026
The latest figure marks an escalation from earlier actions, including the freezing of about $344 million in cryptocurrency assets connected to Iran announced in recent days.
U.S. officials say the campaign is intended to disrupt Tehran’s ability to generate and transfer funds amid heightened geopolitical tensions and ongoing economic restrictions.
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