US seizes cryptocurrency from Iranian authorities

The US authorities have seized Iranian crypto assets worth about $ 500 million, according to a statement made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The cryptocurrency is associated with the Iranian leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The asset freeze was part of Operation Economic Fury, initiated by US President Donald Trump in March 2025. The strategy is aimed at systematically blocking Iranian financial flows: seizing assets, freezing bank accounts, and imposing secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Iranian oil. «We are freezing Iranian accounts around the world,» Bessent assured.

Last week, the minister said that the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had imposed sanctions on several crypto wallets suspected of having ties to Iran. Tether, a stablecoin issuer, confirmed that it had frozen more than $ 344 million USDT at the request of the US authorities, the largest blocking in the company’s history.

At the same time, it was reported that Iran is considering charging ships for passing through the Strait of Hormuz in bitcoin. As planned by the Iranian authorities, empty tankers will pass free of charge, while loaded tankers will have to pay $ 1 per barrel of oil. Forbes reported that Iran has already received income from this kind of racketeering, but Tehran has not officially confirmed this information.

At the end of April, Marisks, a maritime risk assessment company, detected a new fraud scheme. Attackers pose as representatives of Iranian security forces and contact the owners of ships stuck in the Strait, demanding payment in bitcoin or USDT in exchange for permission to pass.