Tether Company has Blocked more than $1 Billion in USDT cryptocurrencies

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Sources of the Hash Telegraph publication report that the American company Tether actively replenishes the black list of wallets and blocks users from accessing USDT stablecoins.

After the events of November 2017, when an unknown hacker stole more than $30 million in USDT stablecoins from the Tether Treasury wallet, the issuer of these stablecoins, Tether announced the release of a new version of the Omni Core software client capable of blocking assets and transactions from blacklisted crypto wallets.

In December 2023, Tether announced an update to its blockchain policy. From now on, the company actively blocks access of USDT holders to wallets included in the US sanctions list (SDN). Execution is monitored by the Foreign Assets Regulatory Service (OFAC).

"This strategic decision aligns with our unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest security standards in our global ecosystem and contributes to expanding our close working relationships with global law enforcement and regulatory authorities," Tether said in a statement.

According to Dune Analytics, there are now about 1,500 addresses on the Tether blacklist, which stores approximately 1.1 billion USDT.

Hash Telegraph sources believe that blocking USDT by the issuer violates the fundamental principles of decentralization and freedom of cryptocurrencies, in fact being an extrajudicial confiscation of funds. However, this is impossible to fight, since Tether has absolute control over both the issue and circulation of USDT stablecoins. Moreover, the powers are fixed in the user agreement with the owners of cryptoassets.

"Tether may, in its sole discretion, seize your property and transfer it to any government, law enforcement or other authorities when circumstances so require," the service's terms of use state.

Tether states that these powers are necessary to comply with international anti-money laundering (AML) and Terrorist Financing (CFT) standards.

Earlier, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall sent a letter to the White House administration warning that Russia, Iran and North Korea are using USDT stablecoins to circumvent sanctions and pay for the supply of dual-use components.

 

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Experts of the analytical platform MistTrack reported that on May 14, Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, continued to block suspicious accounts.

According to MistTrack, Tether continued to fight fraud and illegal operations in the digital asset market. In particular, on May 14, Tether froze USDT on 12 crypto wallets worth about $5.2 million. MistTrack believes that these addresses were included in the Tether stop list due to their likely connection with phishing operations.

MistTrack Alert Just now, #Tether froze ~5.2 million $USDT on 12 addresses. These addresses are associated with addresses tagged as "USDT Banned Address" by #MistTrack.https://t.co/OzPQkfCehS pic.twitter.com/msAShbbl73 — MistTrack (@MistTrack_io) May 14, 2024

https://twitter.com/x/status/1790215338170446058

The Tether administration has repeatedly stated that it voluntarily cooperates with law enforcement agencies and is ready to comply with all instructions to block users who are included in the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that since its inception, the company has actively cooperated with 124 law enforcement agencies in more than 40 countries. In the course of joint actions, more than $1.3 billion was blocked on accounts mainly related to various forms of fraud.

 

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Tether Helps Law Enforcement Recover 108 Million USDT Since 2014

Tether has helped 145 law enforcement agencies in 40 jurisdictions recover more than $108.8 million in USDT since its launch in 2014. This is stated in the blog of the stablecoin issuer.

"Tether's proactive approach to assisting law enforcement confirms its commitment to transparency and accountability in the crypto industry," the company said.

According to the report, the USDT issuer also "voluntarily" blocked more than 1900 wallets associated with illegal activities in order to help law enforcement officers around the world.

"We unequivocally condemn the misuse of USDT or any cryptocurrency for criminal activity. We are fully committed to our ongoing joint efforts with law enforcement agencies to combat fraud," said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

The main topic of the company's publication was not statistics, but assistance to the US Department of Justice in seizing 5 million USDT from fraudsters under the "slaughter of pigs" scheme.

• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/investment-fraud-disrupted-seizure-5-million-cryptocurrency

The company said it froze several wallets and helped the FBI with the confiscation of assets.

Recall that in January-June, Tether's net profit reached a record $5.2 billion, and in August, the company announced plans to develop a stablecoin pegged to the dirham of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).