US authorities have seized approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to Iranian entities as part of Operation Economic Fury, launched in March 2025. The Treasury Department described this action as necessary due to Iran's experience with high inflation, cuts to military spending, and internal funding pressures.
Besent stated that US authorities directly took control of digital wallets believed to be connected to sanctioned Iranian networks, saying 'I believe that we have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto. Just outright grabbed the wallets.' The operation targeted financial supply chains moving hundreds of millions of dollars monthly.
The ability to seize crypto assets largely depends on where and how they are held. Funds in custodial wallets can be frozen through court orders or regulatory intervention, while self-custodied wallets controlled by users with private keys are harder for authorities to access without the cooperation or discovery of those keys.