Stablecoin Giants Freeze Funds Linked to Iranian Crypto Exchange Wallex

Tether and Circle, two leading stablecoin issuers, have taken joint action to block crypto wallet addresses linked to Iranian exchange Wallex. The move comes amidst rising pressure on Iran-linked platforms and follows recent sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The platforms froze a wallet belonging to Wallex, locking $117,000 in USDT and USDC. This is part of a broader trend of stricter action against Iran-linked platforms, with Tether alone having blacklisted over $3.3 billion worth of USDT across 7,000 wallets since 2023.

The incident highlights the increasing scrutiny of crypto activity linked to Iran, which still faces broad sanctions risks despite not being officially sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.