US freezes $344m in cryptocurrency said to be linked to Iran

The Trump administration has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency it says was linked to Iran as the United States ratchets up pressure on Tehran.

The move, first reported by CNN, comes as shaky diplomatic efforts to reach a deal to end the war continue to stall and the global economy reels from its impact.

The administration has sought to increase economic pressure on Iran during the tenuous ceasefire.

It’s unclear if the large sum of money seized will have an impact on Tehran or its approach to the war and negotiations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the agency “is sanctioning multiple wallets tied to Iran.”

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” he said in a statement.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment.

On Thursday, Tether, a digital currency company that facilitates crypto transactions around the world, announced it had “supported the US government in freezing” $344 million in cryptocurrency across two addresses, after information was shared “by several U.S. authorities about activity tied to unlawful conduct.”

A US official told CNN that the government had information linking the currency to Iran.

“Working with blockchain analytics experts, the US government has observed evidence of material links to the Iranian regime, including confirmed transactions with Iranian exchanges and a series of transactions routed through intermediary addresses that interact with Central Bank of Iran-associated wallets,” the official said.

CNN has not independently corroborated that the Tether accounts were linked to Iran.

“The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has used increasingly complex methods to obfuscate its involvement in cross-border transactions using digital assets, as they seek to stabilize the rial and facilitate international trade in an increasingly restricted environment,” the US official said Friday.

The Treasury Department “maintains an active dialogue with numerous US and foreign financial institutions, including digital assets exchanges,” the official said.

Heavily sanctioned regimes like Iran, Russia and North Korea have increasingly turned to cryptocurrency, which is less regulated that the traditional banking system, to generate revenue and skirt sanctions.