U.S. Treasury Secretary Says Approximately $1 Billion in Iranian Crypto Assets Seized

Odaily reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that since the outbreak of the conflict in February, the U.S. government has seized a substantial amount of cryptocurrency assets from entities linked to the Iranian military, valued at approximately $1 billion. Scott Bessent also indicated that the U.S. has taken direct control of the relevant wallets, and some holders may not yet be aware that their assets have been seized.



Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been accused this month of promoting a maritime insurance platform called Hormuz Safe, which settles payments in Bitcoin. Iran had also previously planned to require oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit fees in Bitcoin. Scott Bessent did not directly link this seizure to the aforementioned arrangements, nor did he specify whether Bitcoin was involved.



Separate allegations claim that Iran-linked actors have used Tether's USDT stablecoin to transfer funds, and that the IRGC has reportedly received $1.5 billion in USDT.