US Strikes on Iran, OFAC Sanctions and Stablecoin Freezes Raise Crypto Market Tensions

The U.S. escalation against Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz is rippling through energy and crypto markets, as regulators and stablecoin issuers intensify scrutiny of blockchain-linked sanctions activity and institutions push ahead with ETF and tokenization initiatives.

U.S. Central Command said it has completed a new round of airstrikes targeting Iran, according to local reports citing the command’s statement. The strikes reportedly hit dozens of military sites near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coastal areas—one of the world’s most strategically important chokepoints for crude oil shipments. Any disruption risk around Hormuz tends to reverberate quickly through global oil pricing and broader risk sentiment, including high-volatility assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Adding to the tension, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that if U.S. attacks continue, “not a drop” of oil and natural gas would be exported from the region, according to Xinhua as cited by Odaily. While it remains unclear how quickly such threats could translate into actual supply interruptions, markets generally treat them as a volatility amplifier—particularly at a time when macro narratives, inflation expectations, and geopolitical risk are tightly intertwined.

In the digital-asset arena, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added multiple cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions list, targeting entities linked to the Cuban regime, PANews reported Tuesday. The sanctioned addresses reportedly span several networks, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Tron (TRX), Dash (DASH), Zcash (ZEC), and Litecoin (LTC). The designations also include state-linked bodies such as the Cuban Association of Revolutionary Combatants and Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism, according to the report.

OFAC also said it froze accounts controlled by Ukrainian national Dmytro Lashevskyi and Belarusian national Yauheni Uladzimiravich Silayev, alleging the pair operated “virtual tools” that caused harm to the United States, PANews reported.

Stablecoin compliance actions also drew attention after Tether reportedly froze four wallets on Tron holding a combined 131 million USDT, according to PANews. The reason for the freeze was not immediately confirmed. Onchain analyst Spector said the funds largely traced back to payment provider DTC Pay and withdrawals from crypto exchange Bitso, and alleged the wallets were linked to OFAC-sanctioned entities including Iran’s IRGC and the Central Bank of Iran.

Policy coordination continued across the Atlantic as the U.S. and U.K. released a joint statement from their Atlantic working group on digital assets, laying out a roadmap focused on stablecoins and tokenized assets. According to PANews, the two governments argued that regulated stablecoins could improve financial-system efficiency and competitiveness, while deeper cooperation could help reduce market fragmentation.

The statement urged the Bank of England, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, and U.S. regulators including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to develop clearer approaches for tokenized assets. It also highlighted priorities such as facilitating cross-border funding, strengthening protections for stablecoin holders, clarifying reserve segregation, and setting custody standards.

The joint effort comes around the one-year mark since the passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act, according to the report. Separately, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the House Financial Services Committee that relevant rules are being prepared ahead of a July 18 deadline, as cited by PANews.

On the investment-products front, Morgan Stanley reportedly filed amended paperwork tied to proposed Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) ETFs. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on X that the expected tickers are ‘MSSE’ and ‘MSOL,’ with fees indicated at 0.14%.

In Japan, the lower house advanced a bill to the full-floor voting stage that would reclassify Bitcoin and crypto ETFs, Odaily reported. A vote is expected within days. Market participants are watching the process closely, as the legislation could influence both the introduction of crypto investment products in Japan and debate over lowering related tax rates—an issue that has remained active as policymakers weigh broader reforms.

South Korea is also moving to formalize how crypto is handled in public finance. The Ministry of Economy and Finance is reportedly pursuing legislation to incorporate new asset types, including cryptocurrencies, into the national asset-management framework. According to PANews citing The Block, the government is preparing a “Basic Act on Asset Management” aimed at improving oversight of state-owned assets, explicitly bringing previously ambiguous categories—such as crypto—into scope.

Separately, Korea’s National Tax Service is reportedly building infrastructure for the planned rollout of crypto taxation in 2027, including creating a dedicated unit and deploying an integrated analysis system, PANews reported citing Chosun Ilbo. Under the current framework, crypto investment gains are taxed at 22% after a 2.5 million won deduction. A public petition calling for the abolition of the crypto tax surpassed 50,000 signatures but has not yet been docketed, slowing debate. Industry groups have argued that the inability to carry forward crypto losses—unlike some stock-investment treatments—raises questions of tax fairness, with policy discussion expected to intensify after the government’s late-July tax package announcement.

Tokenization activity continues to expand in Asia. SBI Global Asset Management and DigiFT launched a tokenized investment product called JX on Solana, Odaily reported. The product implements a Japanese high-dividend equity strategy onchain, offering eligible and institutional investors blockchain-based exposure to a Japan-focused equities approach. SBI will manage the strategy, while the Solana Foundation said the launch signals a broader shift toward onchain finance among Japanese asset managers.

The Solana Foundation also pointed to rapid growth in tokenized real-world assets, saying the RWA market expanded from $5.9 billion to $21.9 billion over the past year. In parallel, Circle reportedly minted an additional roughly 750 million USDC on Solana, citing Onchain Lens. The report said cumulative USDC issuance on Solana in 2026 reached about 69.01 billion tokens, a metric often used by traders as a proxy for ‘liquidity inflow’ and stablecoin-driven activity within the network.

Together, the day’s developments underscore a market defined by two powerful forces: rising geopolitical risk that can tighten global financial conditions, and accelerating regulatory and institutional engagement that is reshaping how crypto rails are monitored, packaged, and deployed.