U.S. adds four Iran central bank crypto wallets to sanctions, Tether freezes $131 million of contents

Finance U.S. adds four Iran central bank crypto wallets to sanctions, Tether freezes $131 million of contents The freeze targets TRON-based addresses that held over $165 million, preventing those specific funds from being transferred or redeemed. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Sheldon Reback Jul 16, 2026, 10:07 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Iran Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati (left) (Ai Hadadi Asl/ATPImages/Getty Images) Summary Show The U.S. Treasury added four wallets linked to Iran’s central bank to its sanctions list, leading Tether to freeze $131 million in USDT. The freeze targets TRON-based addresses that previously held over $165 million, preventing those specific funds from being transferred or redeemed. This action brings the total amount of blocked USDT linked to Iran's central bank to roughly $475 million. The U.S. added four crypto wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran to its sanctions list after a ceasefire agreement between the two countries broke down and air and drone strikes resumed. The four Tron-blockchain wallets had received more than $165 million in stablecoins, according to Chainalysis . Tether blocked $131 million in USDT held by the accounts, though some of the funds had moved before the freeze. Sanctioning the wallets gives exchanges, custodians and compliance firms a clear set of addresses to screen for. Iran’s central bank has accumulated at least $507 million in USDT , according to Elliptic, using the token to support the rial. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has said its published wallet lists are not exhaustive, meaning other addresses controlled by the bank may still qualify as blocked property. Tuesday’s OFAC update expands on an existing designation rather than imposing new sanctions. The Central Bank of Iran has been blocked under U.S. counterterrorism authorization since 2019 over its support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezbollah. The action follows OFAC’s June sanctions on Nobitex and other Iranian exchanges accused of helping the central bank move in and out of stablecoins. In April, Tether froze $344 million in USDT linked to the bank, bringing the total blocked across both actions to roughly $475 million. Chainalysis said the four addresses received funds from an institutional liquidity provider and an Asia-based payment processor, The frozen tokens remain visible onchain, but the addresses can no longer transfer or redeem them. The freeze, however, does not amount to a seizure as the funds remain under the control of the wallets belonging to Iran’s central bank. Tether Iran Related Assets Bitcoin $ 64,095.90 0.79 % Latest Crypto News 1 Live updates: ZachXBT calls hardware wallets complete garbage; BTC steady after Korea rate hike 3 hours ago 2 U.S. Senate unanimously opposes clemency for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried 4 hours ago 3 A bitcoin wallet dormant since the 2017 peak just moved $383 million 4 hours ago 4 Ether outruns bitcoin as ETF money returns, almost all of from BlackRock's fund 5 hours ago 5 Two groups of bitcoin investors sell on the rise as U.S. inflation lifts prices to nearly $65,000 5 hours ago 6 Coinbase's Jesse Pollak steps back from Base app leadership after admitting his crypto social strategy failed 13 hours ago 7 DTCC moves tokenized securities into live trading, marking a milestone for Wall Street's blockchain push 17 hours ago 8 Cantor and Securitize collaborate on blockchain-based IPOs 17 hours ago 9 Ostium suffers $18 million exploit as oracle attack wave continues to hit DeFi 18 hours ago 10 The privacy paradox of protecting kids online 19 hours ago Latest Research Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. By CoinDesk Research Jul 13, 2026 CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. Why it matters : CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. View Full Report More From Finance Coinbase's Jesse Pollak steps back from Base app leadership after admitting his crypto social strategy failed DTCC moves tokenized securities into live trading, marking a milestone for Wall Street's blockchain push Cantor and Securitize collaborate on blockchain-based IPOs