Tether assists the U.S. in cracking down on illegal activities by cooperating with OFAC to freeze $344 million worth of USDT

According to disclosures from Tether on Thursday, at the request of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement agencies, the company has helped the U.S. government freeze $344 million worth of USDT held in two Tron wallets.

The core reason for freezing these two Tron wallets is that OFAC has determined they are associated with sanctions evasion, criminal groups, and other illegal activities.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that USDT should never become a safe haven for illegal activities. Once addresses are clearly linked to sanctioned entities, criminal networks, or other illicit activities, Tether will take decisive action immediately.

The company revealed that Tether has established cooperation mechanisms with over 340 law enforcement agencies across 65 countries, assisting in over 2,300 cases, including more than 1,200 involving U.S. law enforcement.

These achievements are the result of multi-party collaboration. Currently, Tether has helped freeze over $4.4 billion in assets related to these cases, with more than $2.1 billion frozen by U.S. authorities alone.

It is worth noting that during this regulatory action, the world's second-largest stablecoin issuer, Circle, is embroiled in controversy. Critics also accuse it of slow responses to incidents like coin thefts and hacking, and of rarely taking asset freeze or control measures.

In early April this year, after Drift Protocol was hacked for $285 million, industry critics widely condemned Circle for possessing the technology and contract permissions but failing to intercept or freeze the stolen funds, effectively enabling illegal activities. Currently, Circle is involved in related lawsuits over this incident.

Fortunately, Tether announced that it has reached a strategic partnership with Drift Protocol to assist in recovering user funds and restarting the platform. In drafting the asset recovery plan, both parties have raised nearly $150 million, with Tether contributing up to $127.5 million.

In summary, Tether’s cooperation with U.S. authorities to freeze $344 million worth of USDT demonstrates that stablecoin assets are not entirely safe from enforcement actions; once an address is blacklisted, funds may be directly locked. Therefore, every participant must recognize the risks of regulation and compliance.

#Tether #USDT