Tether has frozen $344 million worth of USDT across multiple wallets following coordination with US law enforcement authorities investigating alleged illicit financial flows.
The action, confirmed by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, marks one of the largest single freeze operations the company has undertaken. The frozen addresses are linked to wallets allegedly used to facilitate sanctions evasion, narcotics financing, and ransomware proceeds.
“Tether remains fully committed to cooperating with global law enforcement,” Ardoino wrote. “Our compliance infrastructure allows us to act quickly and decisively when criminal activity is identified.”
The freeze underscores increasing regulatory scrutiny facing stablecoin issuers. The US Senate’s GENIUS Act would mandate robust compliance frameworks for all dollar-pegged digital assets.
Critics from the crypto privacy community expressed concern about centralized control stablecoin issuers retain over user funds. USDT currently has approximately $145 billion in circulation.
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