US seizes one billion dollars in crypto

The United States has seized about $1 billion in cryptocurrency tied to Iranian operations, nearly double the $500 million figure reported a month earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Speaking at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent said Iran had been moving between $400 million and $500 million in digital assets each month to skirt U.S. sanctions. He said the latest seizures came directly from digital wallets linked to the Iranian government.

Escalation of ‘operation economic fury’

The jump in confiscated funds stems from “Operation Economic Fury,” a broad campaign aimed at cutting off Tehran’s financial access worldwide. Bessent said the intensified measures followed President Trump’s directive to escalate economic pressure on Iran, contributing to what he described as a growing currency crisis in the country.

The effort involves tracing digital asset flows, freezing accounts and wallets, and coordinating with private-sector entities to disrupt funding channels.

Bessent: government can “outright grab the wallets”

Bessent emphasized that U.S. authorities now have a sophisticated capability to track and seize digital assets.

According to him, officials are able to “just outright grab the wallets” when they can tie them to sanctioned entities or illicit activity. A key part of the strategy is cooperation with centralized platforms and stablecoin issuers.

In late April, stablecoin issuer Tether froze $344 million in USDT on the Tron network after receiving notifications from U.S. authorities, illustrating how enforcement relies on regulated intermediaries to enforce asset blocks.

Shift in policy: seized crypto added to national holdings

The seizures are reshaping how the U.S. government manages confiscated digital assets.

Bessent has said since 2025 that Washington will add seized cryptocurrencies to national reserves rather than sell them at auction. He reiterated that approach in January, framing enforcement actions as a way to build up government bitcoin holdings once legal processes are complete.

This policy reduces immediate selling pressure in the market by avoiding large liquidations that could depress prices. At the same time, it gradually turns the U.S. into one of the world’s largest single holders of bitcoin.

Current U.S. bitcoin holdings and market impact

Data from on-chain analytics firm Arkham Analytics shows the U.S. currently controls about 328,372 BTC, with an estimated value of around $24 billion at recent prices. Bitcoin was trading near $73,500 as of May 29, 2026.

Broader estimates put total U.S. government crypto holdings at roughly $27 billion spread across more than 600 addresses as of early May 2026.

This “hold” strategy removes a large pool of potential selling from the open market, which can be supportive for prices in the medium term. However, any policy shift toward more aggressive liquidations could introduce sharp volatility, as large tranches of bitcoin or other tokens hit trading venues.

New focus on government wallet movements

Because of the scale of the holdings, on-chain movements from government-controlled wallets have become a closely watched signal.

Even small transfers to institutional platforms such as Coinbase Prime can fuel speculation about possible sales or auctions. A recent transfer of about $1.9 million in altcoins seized from Alameda Research is one example of how routine asset management decisions now attract heightened scrutiny.

For digital asset markets, the U.S. seizure campaign against Iran under Operation Economic Fury is therefore doing double duty: it is a sanctions enforcement tool and, at the same time, a growing macro factor for crypto pricing and sentiment among traders.

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