The US Treasury sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to Iran today, one day after stablecoin issuer Tether froze roughly $344 million in (CRYPTO: USDT) linked to the same network.

The freeze hit two Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) addresses holding around $213 million and $131 million respectively, carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and US law enforcement.

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

A Shadow Economy In The Strait

The action fits a broader pattern of Iran leaning on crypto rails to sidestep sanctions.

Since mid-March, Tehran has been charging transit fees at the Strait of Hormuz in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), USDT, and Chinese yuan.

Maritime risk firm MARISKS warned this week that fraudsters impersonating Iranian officials are now extorting Bitcoin and USDT payments from shipping companies whose vessels are stranded in the strait, a parallel shadow economy running alongside the official toll system.

Chainalysis estimates Iranian crypto holdings reached $7.8 billion in 2025, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accounting for roughly half.

Polymarket Prices A Durable Tehran

Prediction market traders on Polymarket are signaling Iran’s leadership absorbs the pressure.

The contract on whether the Iranian regime falls by June 30 sits at roughly 8%, with more than $33 million in volume. The end-of-2026 version trades near 21%.

A separate Polymarket contract on a US-Iran permanent peace deal has drawn over $45 million in wagers, with traders heavily skeptical of a breakthrough as Islamabad talks remain stalled.

The nuclear deal by April 30 contract prints around 10% “Yes.”

The read across contracts is consistent. Washington is locked into a long sanctions fight, and crypto rails are now the front line.

Every additional OFAC freeze, every wallet blacklisted at the smart contract level, reinforces the thesis that the economic war outlasts the shooting one.

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