Stablecoin Giant Tether Blocks $4.2 Billion In Crypto Over Crime Concerns
Tether, the corporate behind the world’s most generally used stablecoin, USDT, has revealed that it has frozen roughly $4.2 billion value of its tokens tied to suspected illicit exercise, with nearly all of these actions happening over the previous three years.
Tether Expands Crackdown On Criminal Use Of USDT
Tether said that simply this week, it assisted the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in freezing almost $61 million in USDT related to so‑referred to as “pig‑butchering” scams — a sort of fraud wherein criminals construct private relationships with victims earlier than persuading them to spend money on faux cryptocurrency schemes.
That newest motion introduced the whole worth of frozen USDT linked to alleged illicit exercise to $4.2 billion. Of that quantity, $3.5 billion has been blocked since 2023 alone, a Tether spokesperson said to Reuters in emailed feedback late Thursday.
Earlier within the week, Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino highlighted the corporate’s latest cooperation with US authorities:
Tether’s cooperation with the Department of Justice highlights the necessity for blockchain transparency to empower legislation enforcement to behave shortly and successfully towards felony exercise.
The government added that the agency stays dedicated to supporting authorities in freezing illicit assets, defending victims, and making certain that USDT continues to operate as what he described as a clear software for world commerce.
Tether additionally outlined a number of enforcement actions carried out over the previous 12 months that concerned coordination with home and worldwide authorities.
DOJ, Brazil, Secret Service Seizures
According to the crypto firm, on July 22, 2025, the US Department of Justice enabled a civil forfeiture motion towards Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company, freezing and reissuing $1.6 million in USDT allegedly tied to terror financing activities primarily based in Gaza.
In June 2025, Brazilian authorities additionally acknowledged Tether’s help in blocking 32 million Brazilian reais — roughly $6.2 million — linked to a cross‑border money-laundering operation performed by way of Klever Wallet.
That similar month, Tether labored with the Department of Justice and Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX to help a civil forfeiture grievance in search of to grab roughly $225 million in USDT linked to pig‑butchering fraud schemes.
In March of that very same 12 months, the US Secret Service froze $23 million within the agency’s USDT stablecoin that was allegedly related to transactions on Garantex, a Russian trade underneath sanctions.
Additionally, in November of final 12 months, the stablecoin issuer mentioned it collaborated with the Royal Thai Police and the US Secret Service to hint and seize $12 million from a transnational rip-off community.
Featured picture from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
