Key facts
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned four crypto wallets associated with Iran's central bank.
- Tether has frozen $131 million in USDT from these wallets.
- The four Tron-based wallets had previously received over $165 million in stablecoins.
- This action increases the total blocked USDT linked to Iran's central bank to approximately $475 million.
- The Central Bank of Iran has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019.
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned four cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran's central bank, prompting stablecoin issuer Tether to freeze approximately $131 million in USDT. This action is part of an ongoing effort to curb Iran's access to digital assets.
The four Tron-blockchain wallets had received over $165 million in stablecoins, according to data from Chainalysis. Tether's freeze prevents these specific funds from being transferred or redeemed, although some funds had already moved before the action was taken. This latest move brings the total amount of USDT blocked in connection with Iran's central bank to roughly $475 million, following a previous freeze of $344 million in April.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that the sanctioned wallets are not an exhaustive list, implying other addresses controlled by the bank may also be considered blocked property. The Central Bank of Iran has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019 due to its alleged support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezbollah.
This development follows earlier sanctions in June on Iranian exchanges like Nobitex, accused of facilitating the central bank's use of stablecoins. Chainalysis reported that the newly sanctioned addresses received funds from an institutional liquidity provider and an Asia-based payment processor. While the frozen tokens remain visible on the blockchain, the addresses can no longer move or redeem them, though the funds are not yet seized.