As hostilities between the United States and Iran resumed again, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced taking another drastic action to hurt Iran. On July 14, Bessent posted on
As hostilities between the United States and Iran resumed again, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced taking another drastic action to hurt Iran.
On July 14, Bessent posted on X that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran and froze over $130 million worth of digital assets.
Bessent said the Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s "illicit financial activities" and its "abuse of digital assets." The department will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its "illicit revenue schemes," he added.
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As part of its war with Iran, the U.S. is trying to financially choke the Asian country by asset seizures and bank account freezes. The sanctioning of crypto wallets linked to Iranian authorities is part of the same plan.
Iran is a globally sanctioned country and it tends to avail anonymous crypto avenues for its financial needs. As reported earlier, Iran introduced cryptocurrency as a payment mode for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trending on TheStreet RoundtableChainalysis reported that Iranian wallets received a record $7.8 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025. TRM Labs estimated roughly $10 billion in total Iran-linked crypto activity that same year.
Since the Donald Trump administration itself is deeply engaged with the crypto ecosystem and is also keen to hurt Iran, it is trying to choke all the entry-exit points of Iran's finances. Iran's crypto infrastructure is one of the primary targets of the Trump administration.
During an interview in April, Bessent boasted of the U.S. seizing approximately $500 million in Iranian crypto assets.
Related: Treasury Secretary Bessent boasts of seizing $500 million in Iranian assets
