The United States could seize roughly $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to Iran this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, although he did not identify the digital assets involved or explain how authorities would take control of them.
Speaking at Newsmax’s NPolicy Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Bessent said U.S. sanctions against Iran were having an effect and that American authorities knew where the funds were. The comments were reported by Bitcoin Magazine.
What Bessent said about the planned seizure
“We’re probably going to seize $1 billion of crypto this week,” Bessent said during the event. He added that the United States was “isolating” Iran, describing the policy as having moved from a “maximum pressure campaign” to an “absolute isolation campaign.”
Bessent did not say whether the $1 billion was held in bitcoin, stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies. He also did not disclose which wallets or entities were involved, the legal process for the proposed seizure, or whether the assets were held directly by the Iranian government.
The Treasury secretary said the United States had begun targeting cryptocurrency wallets connected to the Iranian regime in April. The action forms part of a broader effort against Iran’s methods of moving money outside traditional financial channels and avoiding sanctions.
Why the type of crypto matters
A seizure would depend heavily on how the assets are stored. Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public blockchain, but the network itself cannot simply be ordered to freeze coins. Control generally depends on possession of the private keys or on the involvement of an intermediary, such as a centralized exchange.
Other digital assets may be more vulnerable to intervention. The source material identifies Tether’s USDT, a stablecoin designed to track the U.S. dollar, as an example of an asset that can be frozen by its issuer under certain circumstances. Bessent has previously said that U.S. authorities seized Iranian crypto in the form of USDT.
That distinction leaves the nature of the reported $1 billion central to understanding the announcement. If the assets are held through an exchange or consist of tokens with issuer-controlled features, authorities may have more avenues to restrict access than they would with bitcoin held in a self-custodied wallet.
Iran’s expanding use of digital assets
Iran has increasingly used bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to work around U.S. sanctions, according to the source material. Earlier this year, the country introduced a bitcoin-backed insurance service for shipping companies. The Financial Times also reported last month that Iran was using bitcoin to settle cross-border transactions through domestic crypto exchanges, after the central bank urged people to take necessary steps to support the economy.
U.S. President Donald Trump revived his “maximum pressure” policy after returning to office. A national security memorandum signed in February 2025 directed the Treasury toward a sustained campaign against Iran’s shadow banking, money-laundering and sanctions-evasion networks.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 11:59 a.m. on October 11, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $83,083.39, up 0.32% over 24 hours but down 2.60% over seven days. Sei was $0.0677, up 0.66% in 24 hours and down 6.63% over seven days. Ethereum Name Service fell 3.28% to $6.14 in 24 hours, while Sentient rose 21.62% to $0.0239.
