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World desk3 min

Bessent Says U.S. Seized About $1 Billion in Iran-Linked Crypto

At a May 2026 forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put the U.S. seizure of Iran-linked cryptocurrency at about $1 billion. Public reporting does not provide an asset-by-asset accounting or verify the headline phrase “we know where it is.”
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At the Reagan National Economic Forum in California on May 29, 2026, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States had seized “about a billion dollars” in cryptocurrency linked to Iran. That is Bessent’s reported estimate—not a publicly itemized, independently audited total. The phrase “we know where it is” has not been verified as his exact wording in the available official remarks or reporting.

What Bessent said—and what the public record shows

Contemporary coverage by The Block and the Associated Press reported Bessent’s May 29 statement at the Reagan National Economic Forum. AP quoted him as saying, “We have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto.” Fox Business also reported a figure of roughly $1 billion.

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The careful way to state the claim is that Bessent said the U.S. had seized about $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency. The public materials identified here do not provide a wallet-by-wallet inventory, a breakdown by asset, a valuation date, or a calculation method. They therefore do not let readers independently reconstruct or verify the rounded total.

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Is “we know where it is” a verified quote?

Not on the record available here. The phrase appears in the supplied headline wording, but the contemporaneous reporting cited above does not establish it as a verbatim sentence from Bessent. Treasury’s official remarks page for the forum confirms the event and date, but its published text does not include the crypto-seizure remark. Without a recording or authoritative transcript confirming the wording, it should not be presented as a direct quote.

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How later Iran-related actions fit—and do not fit

Treasury designations

Treasury later described Operation Economic Outcast as a campaign targeting Iran’s digital-asset ecosystem. It also designated BitBank, which Treasury said was controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. These are Treasury’s stated designation rationale and policy context; they do not independently confirm the amount Bessent cited. See Treasury’s October 2026 release.

DOJ’s separate $61 million forfeiture action

On September 14, 2026, the Department of Justice announced a civil forfeiture action seeking $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly connected to black-market Iranian oil proceeds intended to benefit Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. DOJ’s announcement describes allegations in a complaint, not findings established by a court. The action is separate from Bessent’s roughly $1 billion statement; the available material does not identify the $61 million as an itemized part of that figure. Read DOJ’s announcement.

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Why “seized,” “sanctioned” and “sought for forfeiture” are different

Action or claim What the cited source says What it establishes—and what it does not
Bessent’s roughly $1 billion statement Bessent said the U.S. had seized about $1 billion in Iranian crypto, as reported by AP and The Block. An attributed public claim. The cited materials do not supply an asset inventory, valuation method, or enough detail to independently confirm the total.
Treasury designation of BitBank Treasury designated the digital-asset venture and said it was controlled by Babak Zanjani. A sanctions designation and Treasury’s stated rationale; it is not, by itself, evidence that the assets in Bessent’s estimate were seized.
DOJ’s $61 million civil forfeiture action DOJ said it was seeking forfeiture of cryptocurrency allegedly linked to Iranian oil proceeds. A forfeiture request based on allegations in a complaint, not a final forfeiture judgment. The available sources do not connect it to the $1 billion total.

The sources do not establish the technical means by which the government obtained or controlled the assets in the roughly $1 billion claim. A seizure, a sanctions designation, and a request that a court order forfeiture are not interchangeable, and the phrase “grabbed the wallets” should not be taken as proof of a particular method.

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