US to Seize $1 Billion in Iranian Crypto: What It Means for USDT and Bitcoin

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US will likely seize about $1 billion of Iran-linked crypto this week. How such seizures work, why stablecoins are the easiest target and what it means for markets.

Oct 10, 2026 - 09:32

Updated: 20 minutes ago

US to Seize $1 Billion in Iranian Crypto: What It Means for USDT and Bitcoin

Illustration: padlock and chains around digital dollar coins and a bitcoin outside a treasury building, oil tanker at sea

Key takeaways

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on October 8, 2026 that the United States is "probably going to seize $1 billion of crypto this week" linked to Iran, speaking at Newsmax's NPolicy Summit in Washington, according to Bitcoin Magazine. He did not say which assets would be targeted. The move would come on top of roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto that Bessent said in May had already been seized, much of it in the dollar stablecoin USDT. For markets, the direct price impact is small; the bigger story is how stablecoins have become both a sanctions-evasion channel and an enforcement tool.

For the wider context, read how geopolitics shapes digital asset markets.

What did Bessent say?

Bessent described an "absolute isolation campaign" against Iran and said US authorities know where the funds are: "We know where it is." He spoke as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated and oil prices jumped, a backdrop we covered in Hormuz oil traffic and the crypto risk premium.

The remarks extend Treasury's economic pressure campaign on Iran, which targets the regime's shadow banking and sanctions-evasion networks. Iran has reportedly used bitcoin and other crypto-assets to settle cross-border payments through Iranian exchanges, and launched a bitcoin-backed insurance service for its shipping companies earlier this year, according to Bitcoin Magazine.

What the official record shows

On the same day, October 8, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control added 5 individuals, 27 entities and 22 vessels to its sanctions list, mostly tied to Iran's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, under a campaign Treasury calls Operation Economic Outcast (see the Treasury press release and OFAC recent actions, Oct. 8). Our review of that OFAC notice found no cryptocurrency addresses among the new entries. As of October 9, the crypto seizure Bessent described had therefore not yet appeared in OFAC's published designations; we will update this article when it does.

Timeline: US actions against Iran-linked crypto in 2026

Date	Event	Amount
October 8	OFAC sanctions 5 people, 27 entities and 22 vessels in Iran's shadow fleet; no crypto addresses listed	n/a
October 8	Bessent says the US will "probably" seize Iran-linked crypto "this week"	About $1 billion (planned)
May 29	Bessent says the US has seized about $1 billion of Iranian crypto: "Just outright grabbed the wallets"	About $1 billion (cumulative, his estimate)
Late April	Treasury reportedly documents frozen Iran-linked crypto	About $500 million
April 24	Tether freezes USDT on two Tron addresses tied to the IRGC and the Central Bank of Iran, alongside new OFAC designations	$344 million

Sources: Bitcoin Magazine, Fox Business, Bitcoin.com News. The cumulative figures are Bessent's estimates and have not been independently verified.

How can the US seize crypto?

It depends on the asset. Centrally issued stablecoins such as USDT can be frozen by their issuer at the address level, which is what happened in April when Tether froze $344 million on the Tron network with help from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Our guide to what a stablecoin is and how USDT and USDC work explains why issuers keep this power.

Bitcoin is different. Coins held in self-custody cannot be frozen by a third party. They can only be seized if authorities obtain the private keys or if the coins sit on a centralized exchange that complies with a legal order. See our complete Bitcoin guide for how ownership works on the network.

What does it mean for crypto markets?

Limited direct price impact. $1 billion is about 0.3% of a stablecoin market worth roughly $300 billion, and seized funds are typically held pending forfeiture rather than sold on the open market.
Compliance pressure on exchanges and issuers. Each freeze shows that regulated stablecoins can be policed, which supports the case made by US lawmakers in the stablecoin and market-structure debates. Read what comes next for the CLARITY Act.
Geopolitical risk premium. The seizure comes during a week of rising US–Iran tension, higher oil prices and heavy outflows from Bitcoin ETFs. We break down the flows in Bitcoin ETF outflows: why $485M left in one day, and the macro picture in how macroeconomics drives crypto markets.

What to watch next

New Iran-related designations on the OFAC Iran sanctions page, which would confirm which wallets were targeted.
Any freeze announcement by stablecoin issuers, as in April.
Developments around the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices, which have been driving risk sentiment.
The Fed's October 27–28 meeting: see Bitcoin ahead of the October FOMC.

FAQ

How much Iranian crypto has the US seized?

Bessent said in May 2026 that the US had seized about $1 billion, and on October 8 he said another seizure of about $1 billion was likely that week. These are his estimates.

Which cryptocurrencies are targeted?

Bessent did not say. Past actions focused on USDT on the Tron network, which its issuer can freeze.

Can the US freeze bitcoin?

Not directly. Bitcoin held in self-custody cannot be frozen; it can be seized only through private keys or through a compliant exchange holding the coins.