The United States has seized about $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency tied to Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced, describing the action as part of a broader campaign to cut off funding channels used by Tehran.
Operation Economic Fury
Speaking in a Fox Business interview, Bessent said U.S. authorities had “grabbed the wallets” and seized cryptocurrency connected to Iran.
The effort falls under Operation Economic Fury, a Trump administration initiative aimed at restricting Iran’s access to overseas revenue, banking networks, and digital-asset infrastructure.
The Treasury stated:
“Treasury has cracked down on Tehran’s global shadow banking networks; designated networks supplying weapons and other military components to Iran; sanctioned a corrupt Iraqi official who has facilitated the sale of oil along with Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq.”
Iran’s worsening economy
Bessent said the pressure campaign had contributed to severe economic deterioration inside Iran.
He noted that large numbers of military personnel were going unpaid, police officers were failing to report for duty, and inflation had exceeded 200%.
Iranian authorities had also reportedly resorted to food vouchers and internet shutdowns to manage unrest.
Targeting overseas assets
Beyond cryptocurrency, the Treasury secretary said the U.S. and its partners were targeting overseas real estate and other assets described as proceeds diverted from the Iranian people.
Bessent added that Iranian officials had previously moved hundreds of millions of dollars each month before Treasury intervention cut off those flows.
Iran has a significant crypto shadow economy, with its bitcoin mining operations and digital-asset networks previously estimated at $7.8 billion in scale.
