Stablecoin Giant Tether Blocks $4.2 Billion In Crypto Over Crime Concerns

Tether, the company behind the world’s most widely used stablecoin, USDT, has revealed that it has frozen approximately $4.2 billion worth of its tokens tied to suspected illicit activity, with the majority of those actions taking place over the past three years. 

Tether Expands Crackdown On Criminal Use Of USDT

Tether said that just this week, it assisted the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in freezing nearly $61 million in USDT connected to so‑called “pig‑butchering” scams — a type of fraud in which criminals build personal relationships with victims before persuading them to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes.

That latest action brought the total value of frozen USDT linked to alleged illicit activity to $4.2 billion. Of that amount, $3.5 billion has been blocked since 2023 alone, a Tether spokesperson said to Reuters in emailed comments late Thursday.

Earlier in the week, Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino highlighted the company’s recent cooperation with US authorities:

Tether’s cooperation with the Department of Justice highlights the need for blockchain transparency to empower law enforcement to act quickly and effectively against criminal activity. 

The executive added that the firm remains committed to supporting authorities in freezing illicit assets, protecting victims, and ensuring that USDT continues to function as what he described as a transparent tool for global commerce.

Tether also outlined several enforcement actions carried out over the past year that involved coordination with domestic and international authorities. 

DOJ, Brazil, Secret Service Seizures

According to the crypto company, on July 22, 2025, the US Department of Justice enabled a civil forfeiture action against Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company, freezing and reissuing $1.6 million in USDT allegedly tied to terror financing activities based in Gaza. 

In June 2025, Brazilian authorities also acknowledged Tether’s assistance in blocking 32 million Brazilian reais — approximately $6.2 million — linked to a cross‑border money-laundering operation conducted through Klever Wallet.

That same month, Tether worked with the Department of Justice and Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX to support a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize roughly $225 million in USDT linked to pig‑butchering fraud schemes. 

In March of that same year, the US Secret Service froze $23 million in the firm’s USDT stablecoin that was allegedly associated with transactions on Garantex, a Russian exchange under sanctions. 

Additionally, in November of last year, the stablecoin issuer said it collaborated with the Royal Thai Police and the US Secret Service to trace and seize $12 million from a transnational scam network.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com