Tether, DOJ Asset Actions
- Tether said on April 23 it froze more than $344 million in USDt across two Tron addresses after U.S. authorities flagged the wallets for activity tied to unlawful conduct. - The two blacklisted Tron wallets held about $213 million and $131 million, and Tether said the action was coordinated with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and law enforcement. - The freeze extends Tether’s enforcement record to more than $4.4 billion in blocked assets across 2,300 cases, underscoring how centralized stablecoin issuers can halt funds on request. (tether.io)
Tether froze more than $344 million in USDt on April 23 after U.S. authorities flagged two Tron wallet addresses. (tether.io) The company said the wallets were linked to “activity tied to unlawful conduct” and that the freeze was coordinated with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other U.S. law enforcement agencies. (tether.io) (coindesk.com) Blockchain researchers identified the two Tron addresses as holding roughly $213 million and $131 million before they were blacklisted. (decrypt.co) (beincrypto.com) USDt is a dollar-pegged token issued by Tether, and unlike Bitcoin, it can be frozen by the company that controls the token contract. That lets an issuer stop transfers from specific addresses while investigators trace where the funds came from. (cointelegraph.com) (tether.io) Tether said this case fits a much larger compliance program. The company said it now works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies in 65 countries and has supported more than 2,300 cases worldwide. (tether.io) The company also said those cases have led to more than $4.4 billion in frozen assets, including more than $2.1 billion tied to U.S. authorities. Tether chief executive Paolo Ardoino said the company acts when wallets are linked to sanctions evasion, criminal networks, or other illicit activity. (tether.io) The action reopened a familiar fight inside crypto over who controls stablecoins after they are issued. Critics argue that wallet freezes show users do not have full control of custodial-style dollar tokens, while supporters say the same controls can preserve funds for victims and investigators. (cointelegraph.com) (coindesk.com) This freeze was one of Tether’s largest disclosed actions on record, and it came as regulators and investigators keep pressing stablecoin issuers to respond faster to sanctions and fraud cases. (beincrypto.com) (coindesk.com) Tether did not publicly identify the wallet owners or the underlying case on April 23. What it did make clear is that the biggest stablecoin issuer can still lock large pools of tokens when U.S. authorities ask. (tether.io)
