US Government Aims to Freeze $7.7 Billion Worth of Crypto Assets Belonging to Iran

Key Insights

• The US government wants to freeze Iran’s $7.7 billion crypto holdings as the US-Iran war remains unresolved.
• The US has already frozen almost $500 million worth of crypto assets tied to the Iranian regime.
• However, Iran remains heavily reliant on crypto and recently proposed accepting crypto for Strait of Hormuz passage.

The U.S. government is reportedly preparing to intensify efforts against digital assets linked to Iran as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved.

The latest reports surfaced while negotiations around a longer-term ceasefire continued following recent military escalation between the two countries. Although active fighting has slowed, officials from both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire terms.

U.S. Expands Pressure on Iran-Linked Crypto Holdings

According to a recent FOX Business report, U.S. authorities are examining ways to track and freeze additional crypto assets tied to the Iranian regime.

The report cited estimates from an unnamed threat-detection firm claiming Iran could control roughly $7.7 billion in digital assets.

Frozen funds at the time include $344 million worth of USDT, which Tether froze in two addresses on

This is part of Operation Economic Fury, which focused on cutting off Iran’s financial channels to apply more pressure on the regime. Beyond seizing funds and freezing accounts, the US has also imposed a naval blockade on Iran while threatening sanctions on buyers of its oil.

However, the FOX Business journalist Darren Botelho reported that the US government now wants to intensify the pressure by tracking and freezing crypto assets linked to the Iranian regime.

Botehlho claimed that estimates from an unnamed threat-detection firm indicate that Iran controls around $7.7 billion in digital assets. It is believed that the US could pressure crypto exchanges to better track Iranian-linked funds by threatening to cut them off from the American banking system.

Iran Launches Crypto Maritime Insurance Platform for Strait of Hormuz

The increased focus on Iran’s crypto holdings may stem from its recently launched maritime insurance platform for the Strait of Hormuz. While there have been reports that the country plans to charge tolls for the Strait earlier, its Ministry of Economy finally launched Hormus Safe.

This is a maritime insurance platform that issues digital maritime insurance policies and financial responsibility certificates for ships passing through the Strait. Shipping companies are required to pay in Bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Iranian authorities estimate it could generate up to $10 billion in annual revenue if the majority of cargoes passing through the Strait use its insurance. However,  the legality of such practice and whether the US will agree to it remain questionable

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading around $77,000, up 0.49% over the last 24 hours. The flagship asset has fallen by almost 5% in the past week.

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