U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Four Crypto Wallets Linked to Iran's Central Bank; Tether Freezes $131 Million

The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on four cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran's central bank, resulting in Tether freezing $131 million in USDT. This action specifically targets TRON-based wallets that previously held more than $165 million, restricting any transactions or redemptions from those accounts.

Sanctions Overview

This move comes after the collapse of a ceasefire agreement and raises the total amount of USDT blocked in relation to Iran's central bank to approximately $475 million. The sanctioned wallets, as reported by Chainalysis, received significant funds from an Asian-based institutional liquidity provider and a payment processor.

The wallets are now monitored by exchanges and compliance firms, following guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which has indicated that more wallets linked to the bank may also face sanctions. Tether had previously frozen $344 million related to these accounts in April, contributing to the current total of blocked funds.

While the frozen USDT remains visible on the blockchain, the wallets are unable to transfer or redeem the tokens. It’s important to note that this freeze does not constitute a seizure; the funds remain under the control of Iran's central bank.

The U.S. has maintained sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran since 2019 due to its support for designated terrorist organizations, and this recent action is an expansion of those existing sanctions. This follows previous sanctions against Nobitex and other Iranian exchanges that were allegedly facilitating stablecoin transactions for the central bank.