U.S. Treasury Expands OFAC Powers to Sanction Iran's Entire Digital Asset Industry

Odaily News: Bitcoin News posted on X that the U.S. Treasury Department has expanded sanctions against Iran to include the country's entire digital asset industry, allowing OFAC to take action against industry operators regardless of their location. The measure took effect on Aug. 24 and also covers gold, shipping, aviation, and technology. Elliptic tracking found that the Central Bank of Iran has acquired at least $507 million in USDT; Tether froze $344 million in USDT related to the bank in April. Iran also obtains crypto assets through Bitcoin mining, which Elliptic estimates accounts for about 4.5% of the global total, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets annually. The measure does not automatically sanction all Iranian cryptocurrency users, but it gives the U.S. Treasury broader authority to target the industry and supporters of designated entities.