Tether Freezes $550M in Iran-Linked USDT as US Sanctions Blitz Escalates

Tether said on Monday it has helped US authorities freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT so far this year, detailing two major actions: an April freeze of more than $344 million across two TRON addresses and a July freeze of over $130 million across four additional TRON addresses. Both actions were taken in coordination with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and US law enforcement, and the addresses were added to OFAC’s sanctions entry for the Central Bank of Iran, which links the bank to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force and Hezbollah.

The freezes are part of a broader US crackdown on Iran’s use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. In June, the Treasury sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, for allegedly helping the central bank obtain stablecoins to support the falling rial. On August 24, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched Operation Economic Outcast, with sectoral sanctions determinations naming digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. On September 17, OFAC sanctioned Iranian exchange BitBank, which it said is controlled by sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani and moved hundreds of millions in Bitcoin to the IRGC. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said public blockchains provide authorities with visibility that does not exist with cash, and that Tether can act when credible information is provided by law enforcement.

Tether also said it has worked with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) for several years, freezing more than 22 million USDT across over 40 cases. In September 2025, the NBCTF published 187 crypto addresses tied to the IRGC, which blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported had received $1.5 billion in USDT; Tether blacklisted 39 of them, freezing roughly $1.5 million they still held. Across all cases, Tether said it has helped freeze more than $4.9 billion, including more than $2.4 billion tied to US authorities. The actions highlight the growing role of stablecoin issuers in sanctions enforcement and could prompt further scrutiny of crypto’s use in illicit finance.