US Seizes Nearly $500 Million in Iranian Crypto Assets

Washington has long used secondary sanctions to choke off Iran’s oil revenue and access to dollar clearing, but Tehran has increasingly turned to cryptocurrency, gold and offshore intermediaries to bypass conventional banking restrictions. Formally classifying digital assets as a sanctionable sector raises the stakes for exchanges, brokers and wallet providers worldwide, which could lose access to the U.S. financial system for supporting Iran-linked activity.

On Aug. 24, 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued sectoral determinations covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, while sanctioning nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, individuals and vessels. Treasury said UAE-based Ukrainian broker Ivan Obukhov had processed more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments since 2023 to facilitate oil sales for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.

Iran has increasingly used digital assets and shadow-banking networks to preserve access to the global financial system despite Western sanctions. Washington says those channels have helped the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, finance sanctioned activity and move funds across borders. The latest measures against Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether form part of the U.S. Treasury Department’s “Economic Fury” campaign, underscoring the growing role of crypto platforms in sanctions enforcement and anti-money-laundering scrutiny.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on Aug. 7, 2026, targeting Georgia-based SHPS Shelbit, which operates Shelbit Exchange; UAE-based operator Shelbit General Trading LLC; and Iran-based Aban Tether. Treasury said IRGC wallets sent more than $1 million to Shelbit addresses, while more than $2 million flowed back to IRGC wallets. Addresses controlled by Shelbit operator Siavash Kayvanpour also sent over $2 million to sanctioned exchange Nobitex; Aban Tether processed millions involving previously blacklisted Iranian platforms.

As Middle East tensions escalate and a US-Iran ceasefire agreement collapses, US and Iranian forces have entered a new round of military conflict in the region. The development underscores how cryptocurrency has become an important channel for sanctioned countries to circumvent traditional financial controls and move funds. Washington's action is intended to cut off Iran's use of digital assets for illicit financial activity and prevent funds from being diverted to military purposes, with significant implications for global geopolitics and crypto compliance.

The US Treasury formally sanctioned four cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran's central bank in July 2026. Stablecoin issuer Tether immediately complied, freezing more than $131 million in USDT held in the Tron wallets, equivalent to about NT$4.2 billion. The move marks a significant step in Washington's recent expansion of sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry and financial networks, and demonstrates the Treasury's resolve to work with blockchain companies to combat illicit finance.

The United States has long used financial sanctions to restrict Iran’s access to dollars and cross-border payment services, prompting local businesses to turn to cryptocurrency. TRM Labs tracked about 60 wallets linked to sanctioned Iranian entities. Their transactions involved CoinEx and Nobitex, highlighting sanctions-compliance and anti-money-laundering risks at centralized exchanges.

A TRM Labs report said the wallets had moved more than $3.84 billion in cryptocurrency through CoinEx since 2019. About $2.7 billion, or roughly 70% of the total, went to Nobitex, Iran’s largest domestic exchange. CoinEx subsequently denied serving as a funding gateway for sanctioned Iranian crypto companies, leaving the two sides at odds over the exchange’s responsibility.

Iran has long faced restrictions on U.S. dollar settlement and sanctions targeting its access to international banks. In recent years, it has turned to stablecoins such as USDT, over-the-counter dealers and P2P channels to move oil revenue and cross-border funds. The U.S. Treasury’s inclusion of cryptocurrency channels in its “maximum pressure” framework marks an expansion of sanctions beyond banks, oil tankers and specific wallets to stablecoin on- and off-ramp networks and their financial intermediaries.

On April 29, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced six areas of action against Iran, including “cryptocurrency access channels” for the first time, and said tens of billions of dollars in revenue had been blocked. Separately, OFAC added 17 individuals and 18 entities to its sanctions list on April 28. United Nations data showed shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell 95.3% after February 28, while European crude oil prices rose 53% over the same period.