Some Iranian crypto wallet owners may not even know yet that their money is gone. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed Friday that the US has quietly seized roughly $1 billion in digital assets tied to Iran, a figure that has nearly tripled from earlier estimates released just weeks ago.
The seizures are part of Operation Economic Fury, launched in March 2025, which has gone after Iranian assets on multiple fronts - freezing bank accounts, confiscating properties with European allies, and targeting cryptocurrency holdings.
The $1 billion disclosure is roughly double the $500 million the Treasury Department announced in late April, and far above the $344 million figure made public earlier that same month.
Iran's financial situation, according to Bessent, has grown increasingly dire. Inflation inside the country has likely surpassed 200%, food vouchers are being handed out, the internet has been shut down, and between 40 and 50% of Iranian troops are not receiving their pay.
Before the US stepped in, Bessent said the regime had been drawing $400 to $500 million a month, splitting it among roughly 80 leaders. That flow has since been disrupted.
Even as its assets are seized abroad, Iran has been exploring crypto to generate new income. Reports say the country has been weighing a platform called Hormuz Safe, which would sell digital marine insurance paid in Bitcoin to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. According to a state document cited by Fars News Agency, the scheme could bring in over $10 billion.