U.S. Treasury Secretary says the US has seized approximately $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets

Odaily星球日报讯 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that since the outbreak of the conflict in February, the U.S. government has seized a large amount of crypto assets, worth approximately $1 billion, from entities linked to the Iranian military. Scott Bessent also said the U.S. has directly controlled the relevant wallets, and some holders may not yet realize their assets have been seized.



Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was accused this month of promoting a Bitcoin-settled maritime insurance platform called Hormuz Safe. Iran 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 actors linked to Iran used Tether's USDT stablecoin to transfer funds, and that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly received $1.5 billion in USDT.