Tether helps US feds by freezing $344m in USDT tied to crime

Crypto giant Tether on Thursday announced that it had helped the US government by freezing $344 million in USDT — one of the biggest single freezes the crypto giant has undertaken.

The El Salvador-based firm said in a release that the crypto was tied to “unlawful conduct.” Tether did not respond to questions from DL News or reveal more details about the blacklisted crypto. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control did not immediately respond to questions from DL News.

“USDT is not a safe haven for illicit activity,” Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said in a statement. USDT is Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.

“We combine blockchain transparency with real-time monitoring and direct coordination with law enforcement to stop funds before they can move,” he added.

Tether can freeze assets by activating a function on USDT’s smart contract to prevent specific wallet addresses from transferring or receiving tokens.

Stablecoin issuer Tether says it is stepping up its work at fighting bad actors. Earlier this month, the firm said it would donate $127.5 million to hacked decentralised exchange Drift Protocol to help the exchange make users whole again.

$4.4 billion frozen 

The latest operation with US law enforcement is nothing new: Tether has for years helped US feds shut down “pig butchering” operations in Asia by freezing funds held in criminal wallets.

In February, the company said it helped Turkish authorities with a money laundering investigation by freezing over half a billion dollars in crypto.

Tether said that it works with 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has helped freeze over $4.4 billion in assets since 2023.

Circle under fire 

Tether’s main competitor, USDC issuer Circle, has come under fire for not moving quick enough to freeze funds tied to illegal activity.

When hackers — believed to be from North Korea — drained nearly $300 million in USDC from Drift Protocol on April 1, blockchain sleuths were quick to point out that Circle did not act quick enough.

Pseudonymous crypto forensics expert ZachXBT this month published 15 examples of hacks in which Circle took “minimal action against illicit funds.”

A lawsuit filed by a former Drift user alleges that Circle “did nothing as the attackers worked to offload their spoils.”

Tether said in its Thursday announcement that its “approach is different” when helping authorities.

“We combine blockchain transparency with real-time monitoring and direct coordination with law enforcement to stop funds before they can move,” Ardoino added.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.