US Treasury designates "Iranian crypto channels" for sanctions, Hormuz Strait shipping volume plunges 95%, and the gray market for USDT is disappearing

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On April 29, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly outlined a sanctions strike list on X, for the first time placing "cryptocurrency access channels" alongside shadow banking, weapons procurement, and shadow fleets. He claimed to have disrupted tens of billions of dollars in Iranian revenue that could have funded terrorism. On the same day, OFAC issued a new guidance prohibiting the funding of Iran through Strait of Hormuz security transit fees. UN data shows that shipping volume through the relevant strait has plummeted by 95.3% since the end of February, while European crude oil prices have risen by 53% over the same period. For the crypto market, this marks the first time Washington has explicitly targeted stablecoins and OTC trading as subjects of sanctions. (Context: Revealed: How Russian merchants use cryptocurrency and "zero cross-border settlement" to resolve 40% exchange losses in trade with Iran?) (Background: The double-edged sword of stablecoins: USDT becomes a lifeline in Venezuela and Iran, but also a tool for sanctions evasion.) In the post, Washington's sanctions campaign against Iran is broken down into six attack chains: international shadow banking infrastructure, cryptocurrency access channels, shadow fleets, weapons procurement networks, funding for regional terrorist proxies, and independent Chinese refineries supporting Iranian oil trade. This is the first time the U.S. Treasury has officially placed cryptocurrency access channels on the same list as traditional sanctions targets, with precise and deliberate wording. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on X on April 29 that these actions have disrupted "tens of billions of dollars in Iranian revenue that could have funded terrorism." Bessent listed the chain reactions caused by Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign: inflation in Tehran has doubled, the Iranian Rial has depreciated rapidly, and the Kharg Island oil terminal is nearing storage capacity. If Iran further cuts production, it faces an estimated daily loss of $170 million, with permanent damage already appearing in its oil infrastructure. On the same day, OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) issued an interpretive guidance on April 28, explicitly prohibiting U.S. persons, U.S. financial institutions, and foreign entities owned or controlled by the U.S. from directly or indirectly paying Strait of Hormuz security transit fees to the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The guidance added that even payments made by non-U.S. individuals or entities constitute a "significant sanctions risk." OFAC also added 17 foreign individuals and 18 foreign entities to the Iran-related sanctions list that day, spanning multiple countries and covering oil trade intermediaries and financial agents. UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric cited UNCTAD online dashboard data at a press briefing on April 29: since February 28, shipping traffic related to the Strait of Hormuz has declined by 95.3%. Side effects have emerged simultaneously—global bulk food prices rose by 6% and European crude oil prices rose by 53% in the same period. For the crypto market, the greatest significance of Bessent's announcement lies not in oil, but in the phrase "cryptocurrency access channels." In recent years, Iran has heavily used stablecoins like USDT to bypass the U.S. dollar settlement system. Past reports from Chainalysis and TRM Labs indicate that Iranian exchanges like Nobitex have accumulated tens of billions of dollars in stablecoin inflows, with some funds suspected of flowing to sanctioned entities and IRGC-linked wallet addresses. USDT issuer Tether has frozen multiple wallets related to Iran, North Korea, and Syria over the past year, but OTC desks and decentralized exchange channels remain the most difficult loopholes for sanctions enforcement to reach. Washington's signal is now clear: the next pressure points are OTC desks and stablecoin circulation networks in the Middle East. For compliant exchanges and USDT holders, the extension of sanctions to the on-chain level means that KYC/AML review standards will tighten further, and compliance costs for operators involved in Middle Eastern on-ramps and off-ramps will rise significantly. As pressure mounts, opposing voices are emerging. German Chancellor Merz criticized: "The U.S. clearly has no exit strategy in its war against Iran; the entire U.S. is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership." Trump retorted directly on Truth Social on April 29: "Merz actually thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons; he doesn't know what he's talking about. If Iran really had nuclear weapons, the whole world would be held hostage." The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Trump's overall approval rating has slipped from 36% to 34%, and his approval rating on the cost of living has fallen from 25% to 22%, down by more than half from 47% when he took office in January 2025. The

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