Israel just froze 37 cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cutting off an estimated $8 million in funds that officials say were being channeled to Hezbollah. The move, announced by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on July 1, marks another escalation in the growing use of sanctions as a weapon against crypto-financed terrorism.

The value of the sanctioned wallets comes to roughly NIS 24 million. These wallets are part of a network that has collectively received approximately $1.5 billion in Tether (USDT), according to a September 2025 seizure order that targeted 187 IRGC-associated wallets.

A billion-dollar pipeline, a few million at a time

Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) and local intelligence agencies determined the 37 wallets were actively being used to support Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups, particularly in the aftermath of recent regional conflicts.

When Israeli authorities executed the September 2025 seizure order against the broader set of 187 wallets, only about $1.5 million remained liquid. The IRGC had already moved the vast majority of the $1.5 billion through the system by the time authorities locked the doors.

Over 50% of Iranian digital asset inflows have been linked to IRGC-associated addresses.

A coordinated crackdown across borders

Just weeks earlier, in June 2026, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for processing transactions associated with the IRGC and helping evade sanctions.