Bessent says the US will seize $1 billion of Iranian crypto this week: how a state takes coins and what it means for your USDT

What Bessent said

On Thursday, October 8, Scott Bessent spoke at a Newsmax policy summit in Washington. In an interview with host Greta Van Susteren he said: "We're probably going to seize $1 billion of crypto this week." He added: "We know where it is and we are isolating them."

According to the secretary, the earlier "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran has given way to an "absolute isolation campaign". It includes a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, restrictions on international flights and the closure of land routes into neighboring countries. Crypto is on that list as one more channel through which Iran gets money around sanctions.

What Bessent didn't say:

• which coins are to be seized: stablecoins, bitcoin or something else;
• whose wallets these are and which platforms they sit on;
• how it will be done technically;
• whether this is a new billion or the figure includes what was frozen earlier.

As of the morning of October 10, neither the US Treasury nor any stablecoin issuer has reported a seizure. For now it remains a promise, not a done deal.

What the US has already frozen in 2026

The statement didn't come out of nowhere. Since spring Washington has been steadily hitting Iran's crypto channels, and nearly every confirmed episode involves the same coin.

In all, seven Iranian crypto exchanges have been sanctioned since June. And on September 28 Tether itself summed things up: in 2026 it has helped US authorities freeze about $550 million in Iran-linked USDT. We covered that story in detail in our article on how Tether froze $550 million and whether it can freeze your coins.

Note the gap. Twice already, the figures the secretary gave out loud have turned out larger than the ones in the documents. So the new billion is best judged by official releases and blockchain data rather than by an interview.

How a state can take crypto

The word "seize" makes it sound as if the government has a button for any wallet. It doesn't. There are three different methods, and they work on different coins.

Through the stablecoin issuer

USDT and USDC each have an issuing company, and a blacklist is built into the token contract. The issuer adds an address to it, and the coins on that address stop moving: they can't be sent, although the owner still holds the keys. The issuer can burn the frozen tokens and reissue them to an address held by the authorities. The April and July episodes with USDT on the TRON network went through the blacklist.

Through an exchange or custodial service

If coins sit on an exchange, the exchange holds the keys. On receiving a sanctions decision or a court order, the platform blocks the account and hands over the assets. It makes no difference here whether it's bitcoin or a stablecoin: the customer owns an entry in the exchange's database, not coins on the network.

Through the keys themselves

Bitcoin in your own wallet can't be frozen at the network level: it has no issuer and no blacklist. Such coins can be taken only by getting the keys: by seizing a device or a seed phrase in a search, or by getting the owner to hand them over. This is how states obtain bitcoin in criminal cases. A recent example of such coins on the move is the 9,261 seized bitcoin that the US government transferred to Coinbase Prime.

The phrase "we know where it is" fits all three options. The blockchain is public, and analysts can see the addresses. But knowing an address and being able to take the coins are different things, and the gap between them depends on which coin it is and who holds the keys.

What this means for an ordinary USDT holder

You are not the target of this campaign. But the mechanism it uses is the same for every address, and it's worth keeping in mind.

• A stablecoin isn't cash. USDT has an issuer, and the issuer has the final say. We compared how USDT and USDC differ on freezes in our USDT vs USDC guide.
• Where the coins came from matters. If you received USDT from a stranger, from a dubious platform or directly from a flagged address, the trouble may start with you: a trading platform or a crypto exchange service will hold the transfer for a check. For what happens in that case, read our explainer on a crypto swap stopped at an AML check.
• Check the sender's address before a large deal. A block explorer will show whether it is on the issuer's blacklist.
• Don't keep everything in one token. A stablecoin is handy for payments. Bitcoin has no issuer, and nobody can freeze it in your wallet.

This is not a way around sanctions. Coins from flagged addresses stay flagged wherever they are moved, and honest services stop such transfers. The point here is a different one: an ordinary person should understand the risks carried by the very coin they keep their money in.

How to swap USDT to bitcoin without registration

You can move part of your stablecoins into bitcoin without an exchange account. With VertEXchange a swap needs no account, email or phone number: you pick a pair, paste your wallet address, and see the rate and the amount you'll receive before you send anything. The coins go straight to your address, and VertEXchange doesn't hold them.

• A fixed rate holds for about 15 minutes, so the amount won't change while the transfer is being confirmed.
• You can set a refund address: the coins go back there if the swap doesn't go through.
• Personal fields of an operation are deleted 24 hours after it completes, and your exchange history stays only in your browser.
• Support chat is available on every page, and issues are resolved using your exchange code.

Most often people come here to swap USDT TRC20 to bitcoin and receive it at their own address. If you need a different dollar, you can convert USDT TRC20 to USDC on Ethereum, and when the time comes to spend the bitcoin, swap BTC back to USDT TRC20.

FAQ

Has the US seized $1 billion of Iranian crypto?

As of the morning of October 10, 2026, there is no confirmation. On October 8 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it would "probably" happen this week, but the amount, the coins and the wallets have not been officially named.

Which crypto can be frozen?

Tokens whose issuer has a blacklist in the contract: USDT, USDC and many other stablecoins. Coins held on an exchange can be blocked by the exchange itself, whatever they are.

Can bitcoin be frozen?

Not in your own wallet: bitcoin has no issuer. A state can take it only by getting the keys, or if the coins sit on an exchange that complies with the authorities' demand.

Can my USDT be frozen?

Tether freezes specific addresses at the request of authorities and under sanctions lists. It leaves ordinary addresses alone, but if coins reached your address directly from a flagged wallet, questions may come up at your next transfer through an exchange or a swap service.

How do I check whether a USDT address is frozen?

Open the USDT contract in a block explorer, Etherscan for Ethereum or Tronscan for TRON, and in the read contract section call the isBlackListed function with your address. A result of true means the address is blacklisted.

How much USDT has already been frozen over Iran?

By Tether's own figures, about $550 million in 2026, of which $344 million came in April.