Tether’s Latest Freeze Highlights Its Expanding Role in Sanctions Enforcement

Tether froze approximately $131 million in USDT held across four TRON wallet addresses linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the country’s central bank, according to blockchain data and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The action followed U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian financial networks and added to a series of wallet freezes carried out by Tether in recent months involving sanctioned governments, militant groups and illicit finance. The latest case extends a growing record of the stablecoin issuer cooperating with law enforcement and financial authorities on sanctions-related actions.

Tether Blacklisted Four TRON Wallets

On-chain data showed Tether blacklisted four TRON addresses holding about $131 million in USDT after the wallets were identified as being linked to the IRGC and Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran, both of which are subject to U.S. sanctions.

Blockchain researcher Specter said most of the funds had previously moved through payment provider DTC Pay and cryptocurrency exchange Bitso before reaching the frozen addresses.

Bessent said the action was intended to disrupt Iran’s illicit financial activity and its use of digital assets to evade sanctions, adding that the Treasury would continue tracking illicit cryptocurrency flows linked to the Iranian government.

Iran Freeze Follows Earlier Enforcement Actions

The latest action follows several high-profile wallet freezes announced by Tether over the past two years.

In April, the company froze more than $344 million in USDT held in wallets linked to Iran’s central bank, the IRGC-Qods Force and Hezbollah in coordination with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and law enforcement agencies.

Earlier this year, Tether also blacklisted wallets associated with ISIS-K after U.S. sanctions. In separate actions tied to Venezuela, the company froze addresses allegedly connected to oil transactions designed to bypass U.S. sanctions on the Maduro government.

The actions have involved different jurisdictions and sanctioned entities but share a common feature: the use of USDT to move value through blockchain networks before authorities intervened.

TRON Has Featured in Several Recent Cases

The latest freeze involved wallets operating on the TRON blockchain, which has become one of the largest networks for USDT transfers.

TRON’s low transaction costs and fast settlement have made it a widely used network for cross-border payments and remittances. The same network has also appeared repeatedly in investigations involving sanctioned entities and illicit financial flows, according to OFAC actions and blockchain analytics firms.

USDT Can Be Frozen by Its Issuer

Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, USDT is issued and managed by Tether, allowing the company to blacklist wallet addresses and prevent frozen tokens from being transferred or redeemed.

The mechanism has enabled Tether to carry out sanctions-related freezes while transactions on the underlying blockchain continue to operate normally.

Stablecoins Are Playing a Larger Role in Sanctions Cases

Sanctions enforcement has increasingly included cryptocurrency wallets alongside bank accounts and other financial assets as governments expand oversight of digital asset markets.

Recent actions involving Iran, Venezuela and militant groups have placed stablecoins alongside traditional financial channels in sanctions investigations, with issuers such as Tether able to freeze assets identified by authorities.