Blockchain analytics platform Arkham has published what it says is a public map of onchain cryptocurrency wallets attributed to Iran’s central bank, making a pair of U.S.-sanctioned Tron addresses publicly searchable for investigators and the wider public.
The move could boost scrutiny over how Iran-linked entities apply stablecoins and blockchain networks to move funds beyond established banking rails, U.S. authorities say intensify enforcing sanctions related to terrorism financing and oil revenues.
Arkham Research on May 11th post groups wallets towards the Central Bank of Iran entity and explorer, which the company says can serve as a starting point for tracking connected addresses and flows.
The map is built on two TRC-20 wallets that the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in addition on the list of Specially Designated Nationals on April 24 as the property of Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran, citing ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force and Hezbollah.
TRC-20 wallets linked to Iran. source: Arkham
As part of that action, U.S. authorities froze about $344 million in Iran-linked cryptocurrencies, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, describing it as an attempt to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds.” Tether separately said it had frozen funds at the request of U.S. authorities for “activities related to unlawful conduct,” without specifically naming Iran in its public statement.
The Arkham wallet mapping reflects broader efforts by blockchain analytics firms and stablecoin issuers to expose and disrupt sanctions evasion networks increasingly leveraging crypto infrastructure linked to Tron and Tether.
Related: The US Treasury imposes sanctions on Iran-linked cryptocurrency exchanges in first Iran-related designations
On April 27 noteChainalytic described a multi-stage stablecoin “pipeline” in which Iranian crude oil revenues were routed through brokers, proxy wallets, cross-chain bridges and decentralized finance protocols, and then re-entered accounts linked to the Central Bank of Iran and IRGC-affiliated entities.
Iran’s Broader Crypto Footprint
Arkham’s findings come against the broader backdrop of the growing apply of cryptocurrencies in Iran. February report on Iran’s digital asset footprint, citing estimates from TRM Labs and Chainalytic, estimate that the country’s overall crypto transaction volume will be around $11.4 billion in 2024 and $10 billion in 2025.
In May, Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was reportedly linked to members of an influential family with ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and used as a key conduit between domestic users and foreign liquidity.
In April, Iran reportedly considered charging cryptocurrency fees to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, positioning the digital asset as an additional revenue channel beyond established banking rails.
Cointelegraph reported on Friday that Tether had frozen more than 500 million USDT in Ethereum and Tron over the past 30 days, with about 506 million of that on Tron, according to the BlockSec Freeze Tracker USDT.
A TRON spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the network itself cannot monitor or block individual transactions, but pointed to the T3 Financial Crime Unit, a collaboration between TRON, Tether and TRM Labs launched in 2024, as the main channel to combat abuse, saying it is working with law enforcement “to freeze hundreds of millions of funds,” including funds linked to entities targeted for sanctioning and terrorism financing. Tether declined to comment.
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