Scott Bessent’s reported plan to seize about $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto this week: what is known about the assets, and what he said.

Scott Bessent’s reported plan to seize about $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto this week: what is known about the assets, and what he said.

Reports attribute the estimate to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said the U.S. would “probably” seize $1 billion in crypto this week and “know[s] where it is,” as he described a shift from “maximum pressure” to an “absolute isolation” campaign against Iran (Yahoo’s syndicated Newsmax report; contemporaneous report quoting him). The forwarded reports do not name the coins, wallets, or custody arrangements. The supplied claim that the U.S. had already seized about $1 billion in May is a separate earlier claim and does not identify the assets involved.

What Bessent said

He reportedly linked the isolation campaign to maritime restrictions, limits on air travel, and closing land routes, and said he expected maritime restrictions eventually to halt Iranian oil exports. These are reported remarks, not confirmation that this week’s seizure has occurred.

The available sources do not name the specific assets or wallets, or establish whether any seizure occurred this week.

Yahoo’s Newsmax report · Bessent quote in a contemporaneous report