U.S. Seizes About $1 Billion in Iranian Crypto Under Operation Economic Fury, Scott Bessent Says

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States seized about $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets from digital wallets under Operation Economic Fury, describing the action as an expansion of sanctions enforcement from banks to crypto.

“Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the U”

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Speaking on Fox Business at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent said, "We have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto," and said U.S. authorities "grabbed the wallets" tied to Iran.

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CoinDesk reported the seizure was aimed at restricting Iran’s access to overseas revenue, banking networks, and crypto infrastructure as part of Operation Economic Fury.

Firstpost said Bessent described the move as enabling oil to keep flowing into the global market, while also saying the U.S. had directly taken control of Iranian-linked cryptocurrency wallets worth around $1 billion.

Bessent told FOX Business that Operation Economic Fury has sent Iran into "crisis" and said, "I think between five and a half-six weeks of an incredibly successful military campaign and then Operation Economic Fury," as the regime nears what he called "the end of their tether now financially."

In the same FOX Business interview, he said, "I think 40 or 50% of the [Iranian] troops aren't getting paid," and added that "Police aren't reporting to the station" and that inflation is "probably over 200%."

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Cointelegraph reported Bessent said the regime was siphoning $400 to $500 million a month and dividing the proceeds among roughly 80 leaders before the U.S. intervened.

Cointelegraph also framed the $1 billion figure as roughly double the $500 million the Treasury Department announced it had seized in late April, and much higher than the $344 million frozen after the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iran-linked wallets on April 24.

Bessent said ongoing negotiations with Iran are difficult because of a fractured leadership structure, and he described the talks as involving a "theocracy with the clerics" on one side and "a thug autocracy with the IRGC" on the other.

Fox Business reported President Donald Trump held a White House meeting Friday where he said he would make a "final determination" on Iran, while Bessent said, "We did not have regime change, but we changed the regime."

Firstpost said Bessent claimed the U.S. was working with allies across Europe to "grab villas and houses and properties" and said, "And this is money that’s stolen from the Iranian people."

In parallel, CoinDesk said the seizure fell under Operation Economic Fury, which aims to cut off funding channels used by Tehran, while also noting Treasury’s press release language about cracking down on Tehran’s global shadow banking networks and designating networks supplying weapons and military components to Iran.