U.S. freezes $131 million in Iran-linked crypto on TRON

The U.S. has frozen more than $130 million in cryptocurrency tied to Iran's central bank, according to CoinMarketCap. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a July 14 statement that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned multiple wallet addresses linked to the Central Bank of Iran, prompting the asset freeze. On-chain data indicates roughly $131 million in USDT held across four TRON addresses has been frozen, leaving the tokens nontransferable. On-chain investigator Specter said the freeze was executed by Tether, which restricted transfers through USDT's own control mechanisms rather than changes to the TRON blockchain. The move follows a prior action in April, when the U.S. froze about $344 million in USDT. Earlier on-chain analysis linked transaction patterns to wallets associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intermediaries connected to Iran's central bank. U.S. authorities have stepped up pressure on Iran's digital-asset infrastructure this year. In June, the Treasury sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges, including Nobitex, saying the platform processed more than half of Iran's digital-asset inflows in 2025. Bessent also said in May that the U.S. had seized or frozen nearly $1 billion in crypto assets linked to Iran. Treasury said the latest measures fall under an initiative dubbed "Economic Wrath," targeting crypto exchanges, wallets and traditional financial networks. The freeze also comes amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, after U.S. Central Command confirmed it has resumed strikes on Iranian military targets and reimposed blockades on Iranian ports.