Key Highlights
- Tether has frozen $4.2 billion worth of USDT linked to illicit activity, with $3.5 billion blocked since 2023.
- The stablecoin issuer recently assisted U.S. authorities in freezing nearly $61 million tied to pig-butchering scams.
- Global regulators continue to raise concerns over crypto-related crime as illicit crypto flows rise sharply.
El Salvador-headquartered stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen around $4.2 billion worth of its digital tokens over links to illicit activity.
The bulk of the frozen assets were blocked over the past three years, as authorities across multiple jurisdictions step up efforts to curb crypto-related crime.
Majority of the funds frozen since 2023
As per Reuters, Tether said $3.5 billion of the total frozen amount has been blocked since 2023. The company has the technical ability to remotely freeze tokens held in users’ crypto wallets when requested by law enforcement agencies.
Tether currently has more than $180 billion of its dollar-pegged stablecoin in circulation, up from around $70 billion three years ago, highlighting the rapid growth of stablecoins within crypto markets.
Cooperation with U.S. authorities
Reuters reported that Tether recently assisted the U.S. Justice Department in freezing nearly $61 million worth of USDT linked to so-called pig-butchering scams.
Tether described pig-butchering as a fraud scheme in which scammers establish personal relationships with victims before stealing their funds. According to the report, the latest action brought the company’s total frozen assets connected to illicit activity to $4.2 billion.
“Tether said this week it had helped the U.S. Justice Department freeze nearly $61 million worth of its tokens, called USDT, which were linked to ‘pig-butchering’,” Reuters reported.
Previous wallet blocks
The report also noted that Tether has previously blocked wallets linked to human trafficking, as well as activity related to terrorism and warfare in Israel and Ukraine.
Sanctioned Russian crypto exchange Garantex said last year that Tether had blocked funds on its platform.
Rising global concern over crypto crime
Authorities worldwide have long raised concerns over the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit finance. Reports cited the Financial Action Task Force, which last year called on countries to take stronger action against financial crime in crypto markets that remain less regulated than traditional finance.
Blockchain researchers said money launderers received at least $82 billion in cryptocurrencies last year, sharply higher than $10 billion in 2020, driven in part by growth among Chinese-speaking criminal groups.
Stablecoins are mainly used in crypto trading, and their volumes have surged in recent years alongside the broader expansion of digital asset markets.
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