Treasury Targets Iran’s Crypto Lifelines in New Secondary Sanctions Push

Washington is putting crypto closer to the centre of its campaign to squeeze Iran, with the US Treasury warning that countries and companies continuing to support Tehran could face secondary sanctions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new measures on Monday as part of what the administration calls Operation Economic Outcast, a broader effort to cut off the Iranian regime’s sources of revenue. Digital assets are one of five sectors specifically targeted, alongside technology, gold, aviation and shipping.

The crypto angle isn’t entirely new.

The US has already been going after Iranian digital-asset infrastructure. In June, Treasury sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, accusing it of helping sanctions evasion and facilitating transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Treasury has also previously targeted Iranian crypto wallets and other digital-asset networks.

Read also: Fed Study Finds Crypto Beliefs, Not Demographics, Drive Ownership

Bessent said the latest measures will widen the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign entities doing business with Iran. That matters for crypto because secondary sanctions can put pressure on companies outside the US, particularly those that still want access to the American financial system.

Crypto Moves into the Firing Line

The US has also been stepping up its efforts to seize Iranian-linked digital assets. Bessent said nearly US$1 billion (AU$1.39 billion) in crypto had been seized from Iran as of May, according to The Block. Monday’s action added more wallet addresses to the sanctions list, including one Treasury linked to an individual who allegedly gained control of a Bitcoin wallet holding more than US$30,000 (AU$41,964) in 2023.

Read also: Chainlink Exec Sees AI Agents and Robots Driving Blockchain Activity

More than 60 individuals, entities and vessels were sanctioned on Monday as part of the broader campaign, covering alleged networks involved in oil revenue, cyber operations and procurement linked to Iran’s weapons programmes.

For the crypto industry, the message is fairly simple: Iranian-linked activity is becoming a bigger sanctions risk, even for businesses that aren’t based in the US.

And Washington isn’t presenting this as a one-off. Treasury says the campaign will build over time, with additional enforcement expected as countries and companies respond to U.S. demands to cut ties with the activities it has identified.