The United States Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on Iran, specifically targeting four cryptocurrency exchanges. The action comes just four days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the US has seized nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets since late February.
The sanctions highlight the growing intersection of digital assets and national security enforcement. While the Treasury did not publicly name the four exchanges in the initial notice, the designations are understood to freeze any US-based assets and prohibit American persons from conducting transactions with those platforms. The seizure of close to $1 billion in crypto — unprecedented in scale — demonstrates the government’s capacity to trace and disrupt Iranian-linked blockchain activity.
This move is part of a sustained campaign to prevent Iran from using cryptocurrencies to bypass international financial restrictions. Officials have emphasized the commitment to monitoring digital channels and taking action against entities that facilitate illicit value transfer for sanctioned regimes.