Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pushed back against a U.S. Senate report on October 19, claiming that the company's proactive wallet freeze program has driven a 94% drop in Iran-linked stablecoin transaction volumes since 2023.
Third-party data from TRM Labs supports the directional claim, showing that USDT's share of on-chain volume in Iran-attributed wallets fell from 67% in 2025 to 14% by August 2026. Ardoino stated on X that Tether froze relevant addresses an average of four weeks before official designations by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC and acted before Chainalysis labeled the addresses in 99% of cases.
The statement responds to a September 28 Democratic staff report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. That report found that USDT was used in sanctioned Iran wallets, concluding that 84% of 846 flagged Iran-linked wallets transacted almost exclusively in USDT and describing the stablecoin as a financial lifeline for Iran's shadow banking network.
Tether has previously moved against Iran-linked addresses by freezing Iranian exchange wallets tied to Wallex and other sanctioned platforms. In 2026 alone, the firm froze approximately $550 million in Iran-linked USDT, which included $344 million in April and $130 million in July. These actions coincide with Washington's broader pressure campaign, Operation Economic Outcast, launched in August 2026 to sever Iran's financial lifelines.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that Washington is targeting roughly $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto assets for seizure as part of the operation. Meanwhile, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who led the subcommittee probe, has not publicly responded to Ardoino’s figures.
