Iran has been leaning on Tether’s dollar-pegged USDT to dodge a U.S. sanctions dragnet and transfer cash for the regime and proxies akin to Hezbollah, based on a brand new Senate Democrats report.
The Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations says the token has change into a major cost rail for Tehran and a funding device for terrorist proxy teams, studies The Wall Road Journal, which considered a replica of the findings.
Tether’s USDT accounts for about 60% of all stablecoins by market capitalization. As a result of the token tracks the greenback, it’s much less risky than different crypto — making it helpful for funds and, the Journal notes, for cash laundering.
Treasury has been tightening the financial squeeze since U.S. navy strikes in Iran earlier this yr, together with August’s Operation Financial Outcast.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) led the probe, which reviewed 846 wallets sanctioned by the U.S. and Israeli governments over Iran ties and located that 84% of them traded completely or nearly completely in USDT.
Blumenthal informed the Journal the report “exposes how Tether and its flagship token have change into central to Iran’s shadow banking system, permitting the Iranian authorities to fund its regional proxies, commit human-rights abuses, and pursue hostile drone and missile packages as they defy our sanctions regime.”
A Tether spokesman didn’t return requests for remark. The corporate has labored with legislation enforcement to freeze some regime-linked wallets.
Iran could also be easing off: TRM Labs information reveals USDT’s share of quantity in Iran-attributed wallets fell from 72% in 2024 to 67% in 2025, and to 14% of on-chain quantity in August.
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