Tether has frozen four TRON network wallets containing approximately $131 million in USDT, following an investigation by on-chain analytics platform Specter that linked the addresses to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The move came as the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) simultaneously imposed new sanctions on multiple cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran, freezing over $130 million in digital assets.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the action was aimed at cutting off Iran’s alleged use of digital assets to bypass sanctions, stating the wallets were connected to the Central Bank of Iran. Tether’s compliance measure adds to its recent aggressive clampdown: the company says it has frozen over $4.4 billion in digital assets to date, cooperating with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries.
The timing is notable—Specter reported that the freeze occurred shortly before the Treasury’s announcement. Two of the frozen wallets were allegedly linked to payment service provider DTC Pay and crypto exchange Bitso, though official rationale for the blacklist was not immediately shared. The incident puts TRON’s network under heightened regulatory scrutiny, as Tether maintains a major USDT issuance presence on the blockchain. Market observers will watch for any ripple effects on trader sentiment and potential further compliance actions targeting the TRON ecosystem.
