Iran's entire digital asset industry has been included in U.S. sanctions, and the U.S. Treasury Department has expanded OFAC's authority

Odaily Planet Daily News Bitcoin News posted on the X platform that the U.S. Treasury Department has expanded sanctions against Iran, bringing the country's entire digital asset industry into the scope of sanctions. OFAC can take measures against industry operators regardless of their location. The measure took effect on August 24, and the sanctions also cover gold, shipping, aviation, and technology. Elliptic tracking has found that the Central Bank of Iran has obtained at least $507 million worth of USDT; Tether froze $344 million in USDT linked to the bank in April. Iran also obtains crypto assets through Bitcoin mining, with Elliptic estimating that its Bitcoin mining accounts for about 4.5% of the global total, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets annually. The measure will not automatically sanction all Iranian cryptocurrency users, but the U.S. Treasury Department has gained greater authority over the industry and supporters of designated entities.