US plans to seize $1B in crypto linked to Iran this week: Scott Bessent

Speaking during an appearance at the Newsmax Policy Summit on Thursday, Bessent stated that the planned digital asset seizure forms a central component of ongoing US economic restrictions against Tehran amid the region’s most recent military conflict, which escalated significantly in February. During his discussion with Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren, the Treasury chief did not clarify whether the targeted digital assets were tied to specific centralized cryptocurrency exchanges or if the intervention involved direct cooperation with stablecoin issuers.

"We know where it is, and we are isolating them," Bessent told Van Susteren, emphasizing that the impending move is designed to further isolate Iran’s economy and shut down illicit financial pathways.

The announcement underscores Washington’s continued focus on digital assets as a critical vector for evading traditional banking sanctions. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, commonly known as OFAC, previously announced in August that it was actively targeting crypto exchanges facilitating the illicit transfer of funds to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. At the time of that August announcement, Bessent noted that the administration planned to intensify economic pressure on Iran by strictly monitoring and disrupting financial networks used by the country’s regime, whether those transactions were denominated in US dollars, local rials, or digital currencies.

This week’s projected $1 billion enforcement action builds upon a series of escalating digital asset seizures and freezes over the past several months. In an April interview, Bessent made a similar claim regarding government enforcement capabilities, revealing that authorities had already successfully seized $500 million in cryptocurrency tied directly to Iranian interests.

Private sector cooperation has played a notable role in these ongoing enforcement efforts. Major stablecoin issuer Tether reported in September that it had successfully frozen approximately $550 million worth of USDt throughout the year in direct coordination with US regulatory and law enforcement priorities regarding Iranian sanctions. That total included a single major enforcement window in April alone, during which Tether froze $344 million in USDT.

The broader international crackdown on illicit crypto networks extends beyond the Middle East. Global regulatory bodies and financial authorities have increasingly turned their attention toward digital asset infrastructure used to bypass economic restrictions, highlighting a growing worldwide effort to police decentralized financial tools and protect the integrity of the traditional global financial system.