'We know where it is': Bessent says the US will seize about $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto

Washington is going after Iran's crypto again. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US is "probably gonna seize a billion dollars of crypto this week," in an interview with Greta Van Susteren at Newsmax's NPolicy Summit in Washington, The Block reported Friday.

"We know where it is and we are isolating them," Bessent said. He described the effort as part of an "absolute isolation campaign" against Iran that also covers blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, limits on international flights and closing land routes with neighboring countries.

He did not identify the wallets involved, and he did not say whether the $1 billion adds to earlier seizures. In May, Bessent said the US had already taken about $1 billion in Iranian crypto, while a Treasury release around the same time cited an estimate of nearly $500 million, so the running total is unclear.

The pressure has been building for months. Treasury has sanctioned seven Iranian crypto exchanges since June, including Nobitex and Wallex. In July, sanctions led to about $130 million in USDT being frozen after Tether blacklisted four Tron addresses, according to on-chain analyst Specter.

What to watch: whether Treasury or the Justice Department names the wallets, and whether the coins are frozen stablecoins or bitcoin that has to be physically moved.