US Treasury Cracks Down on Iran's Crypto Sanctions Evasion
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has formally designated Iran's digital asset sector as sanctionable, building on years of enforcement against Tehran's use of Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) to evade sanctions. The move follows a significant increase in crypto activity in the country, with Chainalysis estimating that Iran's crypto ecosystem reached $7.8 billion last year.
OFAC has targeted several key players in Iran's crypto sector, including the central bank, which acquired at least $507 million in USDT through Nobitex, the country's largest exchange. The stablecoin was then transferred to a cross-chain bridge after a mid-2025 hack. Researchers describe this setup as a sanction-resistant reserve aimed at defending the rial, which has lost nearly 90% of its value due to inflation and sanctions.
Operation Economic Fury has resulted in the freezing or sanctioning of around $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto since April, with Tether blocking $344 million in USDT that month. In June, OFAC sanctioned several exchanges, including Nobitex, along with two of its executives. The designation relies on Executive Order 13902, which allows for sector-wide sanctions rather than individual entity sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's office formally named digital assets a sanctionable sector of Iran's economy on August 24. Bessent stated that the objective is to 'sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.'