Tether reports $4.2 billion in USDT frozen over three years

Tether disclosed that it has frozen a cumulative $4.2 billion in USDT linked to illicit activity over a three-year period, a milestone reported across multiple outlets following the company’s latest disclosure ^[1][2][5].

Most of the activity has accelerated since 2023: roughly $3.5 billion of the freezes occurred after the start of 2023, and more than half of the frozen funds were reportedly on the Tron network; Tether says its actions have targeted scams, sanctioned entities and criminal networks ^[5][2][1].

The most recent freeze was conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations, with investigators tracing about $61 million across multiple wallets; observers note that issuer-level blacklisting prevents transfers but does not equate to seizing funds or proving guilt, and reporting indicates Tether’s enforcement activity has outpaced some competitors while USDT’s peg and market stability remain intact ^[5][4][2].

Reporters say the disclosure highlights an intensifying compliance and enforcement trend in crypto as issuers and authorities increase efforts to block illicit token flows ^[1][2][5].