US Freezes $130M in Iranian Central Bank Crypto as Tether Blacklists Wallets

OFAC froze over $130 million in Iran-linked crypto

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran on 15 July 2026. The action froze more than $130 million in digital assets, most of it held as USDT stablecoins on the Tron blockchain. OFAC added the four wallets as identifiers to its existing designation of the Central Bank of Iran, first imposed in 2019 under US counterterrorism authority for the bank's support of the IRGC and Hezbollah. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the update. Bessent said the measures aim to cut the Iranian regime off from its illicit revenue schemes.

Chainalysis traced $131 million to four frozen wallets

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, four Tron addresses had received roughly $165 million in stablecoins, of which Tether froze about $131 million in USDT. On-chain analysis linked the wallets to the Central Bank of Iran, with further ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). When OFAC designates an address, Tether can blacklist it within the USDT smart contract. That step makes the tokens permanently immovable from the flagged wallet, without any transfer or physical seizure. The freeze therefore takes effect the moment the issuer updates its blocklist.

Treasury tied the freeze to Operation Economic Fury

The freeze forms part of Operation Economic Fury, a Treasury campaign against exchanges, wallets, and financial networks that US officials accuse of aiding sanctions evasion. On the same day, OFAC designated more than 50 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to the shipping empire of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. Bessent described the Shamkhani network as one of the regime's most profitable engines. The network remains a major force behind Iran's oil exports and has expanded into containerized shipping and commodities trading, Treasury said. The designations extend a broader push against Iranian oil revenue and shadow banking.

"We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.", 15 July 2026. — Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury

USDT held its dollar peg at time of publication

USDT traded at $0.9998 at the time of publication, holding its dollar peg, with a market capitalization near $184.3 billion (CoinPaprika, 15 July 2026). The $131 million freeze represents a small fraction of that supply. It shows how contract-level controls let Tether immobilize flagged funds at scale. USDT recorded about $73.7 billion in trading volume over the prior 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 15 July 2026). TRX, the token of the Tron network where the frozen assets sit, traded at $0.33 (CoinPaprika, 15 July 2026).

The freeze shows issuers acting as sanctions enforcers

The action highlights how the US enforces sanctions directly on public blockchains. Rather than seizing keys or servers, Treasury relies on centralized issuers that can freeze tokens at the contract level. That method works only for assets under a single operator's control, such as USDT, and not for fully decentralized coins. It gives Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer by market value, a direct role in sanctions enforcement. The approach has moved from occasional freezes toward a standing enforcement channel.

Tether froze $344 million in Iranian USDT in April

The measure follows an April 2026 freeze in which Tether immobilized more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses tied to the Central Bank of Iran. US authorities had flagged those wallets before the issuer acted. Together, the two rounds place close to half a billion dollars of Iran-linked stablecoins beyond reach. Iran has increasingly used digital assets to move value outside the banking system, US officials say, and Treasury officials said they would keep tracing tokens used to evade sanctions. The April and July freezes together rank among the largest crypto-focused sanctions actions against Iran to date.

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Editor’s note: This article was updated on 20 July 2026 to strengthen the sourcing of the on-chain wallet analysis, correct the sanctions authority cited, and remove a third-party reference that did not meet our verification standard.