Tether Blocked $182 Million in USDT on Five Wallets. What Happened

RBK-crypto2026-01-12 tarihinde yayınlandı2026-01-12 tarihinde güncellendi

Özet

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has frozen approximately $182 million across five wallets on the Tron blockchain. The action, which took place on January 11th, was executed in response to an official request from law enforcement agencies as part of an ongoing, months-long investigation. This is one of the largest single freezes on the Tron network in recent months, a popular blockchain for USDT transfers. The company emphasized its established practice of cooperating with law enforcement by freezing addresses linked to illegal activities or sanctions violations. Tether reports it has now frozen over $3 billion in USDT in collaboration with 310 agencies across 62 countries, voluntarily freezing a total of 3,440 wallets. This includes cooperation with U.S. authorities on 2,007 cases and blocking 470 addresses to assist law enforcement in Israel and Ukraine. The article also references a previous freeze of 2.5 billion rubles in USDT from the Russian crypto exchange Garantex in March 2025.

Tether has frozen approximately $182 million in its issued stablecoin USDT. The freeze, conducted on January 11, affected five addresses on the Tron blockchain, which held between $12 million and $50 million, according to Whale Alert.

"Tether froze the assets in connection with an ongoing investigation following an official request from law enforcement agencies," a Tether representative told The Block. He clarified that the investigation has been ongoing for several months. No further details were disclosed by the company.

The freeze of over $180 million is one of the largest single freezes of funds in the Tron network that has become known in recent months, the publication notes. Tron is one of the most popular blockchains for transferring funds in USDT. According to the issuer's data as of January 12, the total market capitalization of USDT is $186 billion, of which $82.5 billion is issued on the Tron network.

Tether emphasized that the company "has a long-standing practice of supporting legitimate investigations by freezing addresses associated with illegal activity or sanctions violations, in response to valid requests." Back in late 2023, Tether decided to block tokens on crypto addresses listed on the sanctions list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

According to information on Tether's website, the company has blocked over $3 billion in USDT as part of cooperation with 310 agencies from 62 countries. In total, Tether has voluntarily frozen 3,440 wallets, of which 2,007 were cases of cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies. 470 addresses with 95 million USDT were blocked by Tether "to assist law enforcement agencies in Israel and Ukraine," the company highlights.

2.5 billion rubles in USDT tokens were frozen by Tether from the Russian crypto exchange Garantex in March 2025. The freeze was conducted as part of a special operation by the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement agencies from a number of European Union countries.

What to expect from the crypto market. How the Trump-Fed conflict will affect prices

Anonymous cryptocurrency Monero reached a new all-time high. Reasons for the growth

In Buryatia, a 'mining truck' stole electricity worth 3 million rubles.

İlgili Sorular

QHow much USDT did Tether freeze on January 11th and on how many wallets?

ATether froze approximately $182 million in USDT across five wallets on the Tron blockchain on January 11th.

QWhat was the official reason given by Tether for freezing these assets?

ATether froze the assets in connection with an ongoing investigation following an official request from law enforcement agencies.

QWhat is the total market capitalization of USDT and how much of it is issued on the Tron network?

AThe total market capitalization of USDT is $186 billion, with $82.5 billion of it issued on the Tron network.

QHow many wallets has Tether frozen in total and how many were at the request of U.S. law enforcement?

ATether has voluntarily frozen a total of 3,440 wallets, with 2,007 of those cases being in cooperation with U.S. law enforcement.

QWhich sanctioned list did Tether agree to comply with at the end of 2023?

AAt the end of 2023, Tether decided to block tokens on crypto addresses from the sanctions list of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

İlgili Okumalar

In Conversation with Ray Dalio: We Are Currently in an AI Bubble, with 1% of My Portfolio in Bitcoin

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, warns in an interview that the current AI boom shows classic bubble characteristics, which could lead to significant economic downturns as seen in past cycles like 1929 or 2000. He explains that speculative enthusiasm, fueled by debt and overvaluation, often precedes a crash when rising rates or taxation force asset sales, causing widespread losses and recession. Dalio also outlines his "Big Cycle" theory, describing an approximate 80-year pattern where widening wealth gaps, massive government deficits, and shifting geopolitical power (like China's rise) create internal conflict and global instability. He emphasizes that we are in a late-cycle, transitional phase where traditional powers like the US and UK face decline. For personal wealth protection, Dalio advises diversification beyond cash into assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, and particularly gold, which he prefers over Bitcoin. While he holds about 1% of his portfolio in Bitcoin as a non-printable hard asset, he views gold as more secure from technological or governmental threats. Regarding AI's impact, Dalio believes it will disproportionately benefit capital owners, worsening inequality by replacing both physical and cognitive labor. He suggests that human intuition and emotional intelligence, combined with AI, will be key for future workers. On taxation, Dalio argues that wealth taxes are impractical and risk triggering asset sell-offs, reducing productive investment. He points to the UK as a cautionary example of debt, low productivity, and political strife. Geopolitically, Dalio foresees a more regionalized world, with the US showing weakness in prolonged conflicts like with Iran, akin to past imperial declines. The ideal outcome, he suggests, is coexisting powerful blocs (e.g., Americas, China-Asia Pacific) without major war.

marsbit2 saat önce

In Conversation with Ray Dalio: We Are Currently in an AI Bubble, with 1% of My Portfolio in Bitcoin

marsbit2 saat önce

Daily 7.2 Trillion KRW: Foreign Capital's Record Net Buying on Friday! Wall Street Says Headwinds for Korean Stock Fund Flows Have Subsided

South Korean stock market sees a dramatic shift in fund flows. On July 31, foreign investors made a record net purchase of approximately KRW 7.2 trillion in KOSPI stocks, marking a fundamental reversal from the persistent large-scale net outflows seen in previous months. This contributed to a significant narrowing of foreign net selling in July to KRW 9.8 trillion, down sharply from KRW 48.4 trillion in June and KRW 44.5 trillion in May. Simultaneously, domestic institutional pressure eased. South Korean pension funds and asset managers turned to a net buying position in July, purchasing KRW 1.0 trillion worth of KOSPI shares, contrasting with net sales in May and June. Market volatility is expected to be dampened by new financial regulations. Effective July 31, the Financial Services Commission tightened access for retail investors to single-stock leveraged ETFs by raising the minimum cash deposit requirement. Trading volumes for these products subsequently dropped to about 50% of their monthly average. Citigroup Research maintains its year-end KOSPI target of 10,000 points. The firm cites several supportive factors: the substantial easing of headwinds from capital outflows, a robust fundamental outlook for the semiconductor sector, historically low market valuations, strong economic fundamentals, and the potential for policy support from financial authorities if needed.

marsbit2 saat önce

Daily 7.2 Trillion KRW: Foreign Capital's Record Net Buying on Friday! Wall Street Says Headwinds for Korean Stock Fund Flows Have Subsided

marsbit2 saat önce

Breaking! OpenAI's Next-Gen AI Solves 10 Fields Medal-Level Problems

OpenAI's next-generation AI model Astra achieves breakthroughs in 10 long-standing mathematical conjectures. The results, including constructing the first known infinite, finitely presented non-sofic group—resolving a major question since 1999—and advancing the high-dimensional sphere packing problem beyond a 46-year-old barrier, are detailed in a 249-page paper. Key proofs have been formally verified using Lean 4. The AI also refuted a rigidity conjecture by Fields Medalist Alain Connes. According to OpenAI, generating these proofs cost under $2,000. Experts describe the findings as potentially Fields Medal-worthy and a landmark moment for both mathematics and AI, showcasing the model's ability to produce profound, human-like reasoning across diverse fields like group theory, geometry, and operator algebras.

marsbit4 saat önce

Breaking! OpenAI's Next-Gen AI Solves 10 Fields Medal-Level Problems

marsbit4 saat önce

How to Make Yourself Irreplaceable by AI Forever

This article argues that the primary threat from AI is not job replacement, but remaining trapped in "wage slavery"—financial dependence on employers. The path to becoming irreplaceable is not resisting AI, but becoming an "unemployable" individual who builds their own meaningful enterprise. The author identifies five key elements for this: Agency (acting without permission), Taste (judging what's worthwhile), Persuasion, Persistence, and Iteration. The solution is to stop being a "pawn" in someone else's game. To start, you must fundamentally change your identity and environment, then engage in rapid, real-world trial and error. While both coding and creating media (content) are powerful, content is more crucial. AI can generate assets, but true value lies in subjective, human-driven content that builds trust and narrative. The actionable advice is to carve out 15 minutes to answer foundational questions: 1) Uncover your "raw material"—what you know deeply or solve effortlessly. 2) Define your contrarian perspective—what common beliefs you think are wrong. The intersection of these answers is your direction. Finally, you must launch by publishing your first core idea immediately, using the feedback to iterate and develop the skills needed for a self-directed life and career.

marsbit5 saat önce

How to Make Yourself Irreplaceable by AI Forever

marsbit5 saat önce

Thanks to Dice Rolls, Bitcoin Keys Are Stored Offline, But Not Everyone Will Do It

The article discusses using dice rolls to generate secure Bitcoin wallet seeds, providing entropy independent of potentially flawed hardware random number generators. It explains that each fair dice roll offers about 2.585 bits of entropy, with around 50 rolls needed for a standard 12-word seed phrase and 99+ recommended for higher security. This method gained attention after a vulnerability was revealed in some Coldcard hardware wallets, where a faulty firmware RNG (dating back to 2021) compromised generated keys. The analysis notes that while a dice-generated main seed was safe from this specific flaw, other Coldcard functions (like creating paper wallets, backup keys, or passwords) could still be vulnerable if they used the defective RNG. The piece argues that while dice-based entropy is technically robust, the manual process is error-prone, tedious, and unrealistic for most new users, who might make mistakes in recording or inputting rolls. It concludes that while manual entropy generation should remain an option for advanced users, the long-term goal is to develop reliable, user-friendly hardware and software that securely generates randomness without requiring specialized knowledge. Coldcard users are advised to check their firmware version and replace any secondary secrets (like paper wallet keys) created with vulnerable devices, while also considering multi-signature setups with devices from different manufacturers for added security.

cryptonews.ru8 saat önce

Thanks to Dice Rolls, Bitcoin Keys Are Stored Offline, But Not Everyone Will Do It

cryptonews.ru8 saat önce

İşlemler

Spot