U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emerged as a central figure in the ongoing negotiations between U.S. and Iran. Whether it's the seizure of the Asian country's assets or any possible
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emerged as a central figure in the ongoing negotiations between U.S. and Iran. Whether it's the seizure of the Asian country's assets or any possible way to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, he always has a new update.
And he just shared another.
It has been more than seven months since the war in West Asia began, and there seems to be no end to it.
On Feb. 28 that the United States and Israel attacked Iran and assassinated the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top leaders. Iran hit back with attacks on Israeli and American bases in the neighboring region.
Military roundtable: Heckman, Rayburn, Spencer assess Iran stalemate and oil-driven market impact (6:51)As one of the world's most sanctioned countries, Iran has frequently turned to cryptocurrency to settle its financial transactions.
While most traditional financial rails don't offer their services to Iran, the country has found crypto to be reliable due to its anonymous nature.
In fact, when Iran outlined its terms for ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz, it asked for $1 a barrel to allow a secure passage and asked for payments to be made in Bitcoin (BTC).
A major maritime chokepoint, the strait handles approximately 20% of the global petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply. In fact, oil's price has surged from $67 to $90 since Feb. 28. Since global movement runs on oil, the prices of goods have also surged due to higher transport costs.
The U.S. has been negotiating with Iran for months now to end the blockade, but there has been little progress so far. Naturally, these Bitcoin payments become a significant source of income for Iran.
Ships are anchored off the coast of Khasab in Oman's Musandam Governorate, near the Strait of Hormuz, on October 2, 2026.Getty Images
However, it hasn't deterred the U.S. from taking action against Iranian entities under Operation Economic Fury.
It started a sanctions campaign of "maximum economic pressure" on the Asian country. The operation targets Iran's ability to transfer funds, including oil sales, shadow banking, weapons-procurement networks, and crypto.
In July, the Treasury Department announced that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned two Iranian firms, the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority. Both are integral to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Bitcoin-focused payments program in the Strait of Hormuz.
On Oct. 9, Bessent told Greta Van Susteren at Newsmax’s NPolicy Summit the U.S. will "probably" seize Iran-linked crypto assets worth $1 billion this week. It was part of what he called an "absolute isolation campaign" of the Asian country.
"We know where it is and we are isolating them."
However, he did not supply more details on the crypto seizure plan.
The latest move is part of the broader U.S. strategy to financially isolate Iran through repeated seizures of its crypto assets.
On May 29, Bessent claimed the U.S. had seized about $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets.
But a Treasury Department press release the same day only redirected to Bessent's Apr. 29 interview in which he claimed the U.S. has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto assets.
Related: Scott Bessent unveils new evidence that U.S. pressure on Iran is working
