Tether Freezes $344M USDT on Tron With U.S. Authorities, Citing Suspected Illicit Activity

Tether said Thursday it froze $344 million worth of USDT held across two wallet addresses on the Tron blockchain after receiving information from U.S. authorities linking the addresses to "unlawful conduct." In a statement, the stablecoin issuer said the freeze was carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement, blocking any further movement once the addresses were identified. Tether did not disclose the alleged underlying activity. The company said the move brings its cumulative cooperation with U.S. authorities to more than $2.1 billion in frozen assets, within a global total exceeding $4.4 billion. Tether added it now works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries and has supported over 2,300 cases worldwide, including more than 1,200 involving U.S. agencies. "USD₮ is not a safe haven for illicit activity," CEO Paolo Ardoino said. "When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively." He said Tether pairs blockchain transparency with real-time monitoring and direct coordination with law enforcement to stop funds before they move. Tether said the freeze follows a series of collaborations with U.S. authorities. The company noted the U.S. Department of Justice has previously acknowledged its assistance in seizures of nearly $61 million and approximately $225 million tied to "pig butchering" fraud, a category of romance-investment scams. Tether's compliance stance has evolved since 2022, when it declined to preemptively freeze sanctioned addresses after the U.S. Treasury targeted Tornado Cash. The issuer has since taken a more prominent role in cross-border, on-chain enforcement, joining Tron and TRM Labs in September 2024 to launch the T3 Financial Crime Unit. Tether said the unit had frozen more than $300 million in illicitly sourced funds as of late 2025. The expanded enforcement effort comes as U.S. scrutiny of stablecoin issuers intensifies. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, requires payment stablecoin issuers to maintain on-chain freezing capabilities and comply with sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules, though implementing regulations are still pending. Tether also said it launched its self-custodial wallet earlier this month and last week led a $150 million recovery plan for Drift Protocol following the Solana DEX's April 1 exploit. This article was produced with the assistance of AI workflows and was curated, edited, and fact-checked by a human.