Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States will “probably” confiscate $1 billion worth of digital assets connected to Iran during the current week, as the Trump administration pursues an economic isolation strategy against the nation.
During an appearance with Greta Van Susteren at the Newsmax NPolicy Summit held in Washington on Thursday, Bessent stated, “We’re probably gonna seize a billion dollars of crypto this week.” He added, “We know where it is and we are isolating them.”
This initiative forms a component of what he termed an “absolute isolation campaign,” which encompasses blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, limitations on international aviation, and the sealing off of Iranian land borders with surrounding countries.
He remarked, “We did have a maximum pressure campaign. Now we have an absolute isolation campaign, and it’s working.”
Earlier seizures and sanctions
This recent push comes after months of American measures directed at cryptocurrency and trading platforms linked to Iran, although the aggregate sum of confiscated digital currency remains uncertain.
Back in May, Bessent mentioned that the U.S. had confiscated roughly $1 billion in Iranian digital assets, noting that law enforcement officials “just outright grabbed the wallets.” Yet, a statement issued by the Treasury shortly after that remark pointed to an earlier projection of close to $500 million.
In July, the Treasury reported sanctions on digital wallets that led to the freezing of $130 million. On-chain investigator Specter connected the enforcement to four Tron addresses containing approximately $131 million in USDT that were frozen by Tether.
Additionally, the United States has placed penalties on several Iranian digital currency trading platforms. The most recent action in September focused on BitBank following accusations that the platform transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps across June and July.
That event followed punitive measures taken against Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex during June, alongside Shelbit and Aban Tether in August.
Bessent’s most recent statements did not specify whether the $1 billion targeted by the Treasury represents an amount separate from previously disclosed confiscations.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-09-us-targets-1-billion-iran-linked-crypto-seizure-bessent-says-we-know-where-it-is-418151.
