US froze nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto under the Economic Fury sanctions campaign

The United States has frozen about $500 million linked to Iranian crypto activity, while Japan is working on its own digital money system, showing different approaches to using blockchain technology.

The Treasury Department announced new penalties on Wednesday against an Iranian money exchange business and related shell companies that process hundreds of millions of dollars for Iranian banks already under sanctions.

The action is part of what officials call Economic Fury, a pressure campaign aimed at cutting off Iran’s access to global financial networks.

Treasury officials said the moves have blocked billions in expected oil sales and targeted what they describe as secret banking channels used by Tehran.

The department said it will continue going after both old-style ways of dodging sanctions and newer methods involving digital money.

“Iran’s shadow banking system facilitates the illicit transfer of funding for terrorist purposes,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

“As Treasury systematically dismantles Tehran’s shadow banking system and shadow fleet under Economic Fury, financial institutions must be alert to how the regime manipulates the international financial system to wreak havoc.”

The announcement builds on earlier steps by the Treasury’s foreign assets office to shut down Iranian money-moving operations, including exchange shops, front companies for Iranian banks, digital currency platforms, and middlemen helping Iran work around restrictions.

Japan pushes forward with blockchain infrastructure

At the same time, Japan’s government is taking steps to embrace the same blockchain tools that Washington is targeting in Iran.

The country’s main political party wants to make digital coins and computerized banking records a core part of how money moves through the Japanese economy.

Leaders from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party are warning that the country could fall behind if it doesn’t adopt these new payment methods.

They say digital dollars and computerized bank deposits would help update Japan’s financial system and make it less dependent on payment networks controlled by other countries.

Building these mechanisms would help safeguard Japan’s financial independence and control over its money supply, according to a party policy paper.

Securing what it refers to as “on-chain financial sovereignty” and safeguarding the nation’s economic independence are discussed in the proposal’s rough English translation.

Japan’s central bank must research the use of blockchain networks for bank account balances, including a wholesale version of a central bank digital currency, in order to accomplish this.

Additionally, authorities are considering allowing banks to produce their own digital currencies, using yen-backed tokens for cross-border transactions, and establishing common guidelines for digital assets, financial checks, client identification, and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing throughout Asia.

Industry sees regulated approach as competitive advantage

According to some sources, rather than allowing digital money to operate in a grey area, Japan’s plan keeps it subject to standard banking regulations.

According to Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, Tokyo believes a cautious, fully regulated system with stringent consumer checks can operate around the clock and satisfy both anti-money-laundering regulators and market watchdogs.

This approach could turn Japan’s large overseas investments into an advantage for foreign banks wanting to enter the market.

According to reports, legislators described the pairing of artificial intelligence with decentralized financial systems as a key foundation for enabling this shift in how transactions are processed.

Closer collaboration with neighboring Asian countries was also highlighted in the proposal.

Officials proposed establishing a global project to construct “stablecoin corridors” that would facilitate cross-border payments using stablecoins guaranteed by the yen, as well as an Asia-wide policy forum on AI and blockchain-based finance.

In addition to government planning, real initiatives have already begun.

On May 13th, a Japanese blockchain organization announced the debut of EJPY, a new digital currency linked to the yen, on the Ethereum and Japan Open Chain networks.

The debut demonstrates Japan’s rapid entry into digital currency markets.

Since enacting new regulations in 2023, digital coins based on the yen have grown rapidly in Japan, and a number of new initiatives have begun in recent months.

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