Image credit: Shutterstock
Arkham has published an on-chain map of crypto wallets it says belong to the Central Bank of Iran after Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses tied by U.S. authorities to suspected sanctions evasion.
The blockchain analytics firm said it identified the wallets after Tether’s April freeze and grouped the addresses into a public Central Bank of Iran entity page. The map is designed to make the wallets easier for investigators, exchanges and compliance teams to track.
Two Tron Wallets Held $344.2M USDT
The wallets identified by Arkham are two Tron addresses that held most of the frozen funds. Reports said the addresses contained about $344.2 million in frozen USDT, along with smaller residual balances in TRX and HTX tokens.
Arkham labeled the wallets as both government-linked and suspicious. The firm said the addresses were tied to Iranian sanctions-evasion infrastructure and could help investigators trace related wallets, counterparties and transaction flows.
Tether Freeze Followed U.S. Request
Tether froze the funds after a request from U.S. authorities. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. authorities froze about $344 million in crypto linked to Iran as part of an effort to weaken Tehran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds.
Tether separately said it froze the funds at the request of U.S. law enforcement and OFAC over activity tied to unlawful conduct. Its public statement did not specifically name Iran.
That distinction matters. The Iran link comes from U.S. officials, OFAC-related reporting, blockchain investigators and Arkham’s wallet attribution, while Tether confirmed the freeze and the law enforcement request.
Arkham Map Gives Exchanges Screening Data
The wallet mapping gives compliance teams another public data point as U.S. authorities target Iran-linked crypto flows. Iran’s central bank has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, with stricter counterterrorism-related sanctions added in 2020.
U.S. officials have also increased scrutiny of crypto rails, stablecoins and exchange activity as possible sanctions-evasion channels. By making the wallets public, Arkham has made it easier for exchanges, OTC desks, payment firms and stablecoin issuers to screen for exposure to the identified addresses.
USDT Freeze Shows Stablecoin Enforcement Role
The case also shows how centralized stablecoin issuers can support sanctions enforcement. USDT runs on public blockchains, but Tether can freeze tokens at the contract level when specific addresses are blacklisted. That gives law enforcement a way to lock funds even after they move outside the banking system.
For exchanges and payment firms, Iran-linked wallet exposure is now easier to identify. For Tether, the freeze reinforces its role as a key gatekeeper in stablecoin enforcement as U.S. authorities target sanctioned crypto networks.
