US 'grabs' $1B in Iran's crypto? đź’°

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the U.S. has seized about $1 billion in crypto from Iran since the war started in February.

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Andrew Hayward
May 30, 2026

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đź“ť What you need to know

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a pretty wild claim at a forum in California on Friday: The U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in crypto from Iran since the war kicked off in February. Bessent said the government basically just "outright grabbed the wallets"—and suggested some of the owners might not even know yet.

His comments were thin on details, but came as a deal to end the war is reportedly close. Iran's Revolutionary Guard had been pushing a Bitcoin-based maritime insurance platform and even planned to collect oil tanker tolls in Bitcoin—moves meant to dodge sanctions. Apparently that didn't go as planned.

Treasury Secretary Bessent Says US Has 'Grabbed' $1 Billion in Crypto From Iran

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has "outright grabbed" roughly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from Iran via seizures.

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