Senate Probe Finds Iran Relied Heavily on Tether to Dodge Sanctions

A Senate investigation revealed that Iran heavily utilized Tether (USDT) to circumvent U.S. sanctions, with 84% of 846 sanctioned Iran-linked crypto wallets transacting primarily in USDT. The report criticized Tether for being slow to freeze funds associated with Iranian exchanges, noting that $34.6 million continued to move through sanctioned wallets. Despite these findings, Tether stated it has frozen nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT this year and emphasized its cooperation with U.S. authorities. Additionally, USDT's market cap is projected to grow to $200 billion by the end of the year, although its share of on-chain volume in Iran-linked wallets has decreased from 67% in 2025 to 14% in August.