Bessent: US Will "Probably" Seize About $1 Billion of Iran-Linked Crypto This Week

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Greta Van Susteren at Newsmax's NPolicy Summit in Washington on Thursday, 16 Mehr 1405 (October 8, 2026): "We're probably gonna seize a billion dollars of crypto this week. We know where it is and we are isolating them." He described the move as part of what he called an "absolute isolation campaign", which he said covers Strait of Hormuz blockades, restrictions on international flights and closing Iran's land routes with neighbouring countries. The Block notes it is unclear whether the $1 billion is additional to earlier seizures and sanctions. Arzdigital carried the same report on 18 Mehr (October 10).

Background: in May Bessent spoke of about $1 billion of Iranian crypto seized, but a Treasury release soon afterwards cited nearly $500 million. In July wallet sanctions led to $130 million being frozen, which on-chain analyst Specter linked to four Tron addresses holding roughly $131 million in USDT that Tether had blacklisted. Arzdigital adds that Tether had earlier reported freezing more than $550 million of related assets on the Tron network with OFAC. In recent months the US has also sanctioned several Iranian crypto exchanges: Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex (June), Shelbit and Aban Tether (August) and BitBank (September).