Tether Freezes More Than $182 Million in USDT Stablecoins

Tether reportedly froze more than $182 million of its USDT stablecoin Sunday (Jan. 11), CoinDesk reported Monday (Jan. 12).

The action, which happened across five wallets on the Tron blockchain, was one of the biggest single-day enforcement moves disclosed on that chain in recent months, according to the report.

The wallets each held between $12 million and $50 million in USDT, the report said, adding that the freezes happened on the same day, which indicates a coordinated action and not a series of isolated incidents.

The move is in keeping with Tether’s voluntary wallet-freezing policy, which the company formalized in 2023 to comply with the sanctions framework from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to the report.

Tether’s terms of service say the company has the right to freeze addresses or share user information when mandated by authorities or when it concludes such action is necessary, per the report.

USDT, which is the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization, is centrally issued and controlled, which lets Tether render tokens unusable without seizing them, the report said.

Stablecoins are coming more into the financial mainstream, thanks in part to the banking sector.

Last week, Digital Asset and Kinexys by J.P. Morgan announced a partnership bringing Kinexys products to Digital Asset’s Canton Network, a privacy-enabled blockchain network for synchronized financial markets. Also last week, Barclays announced it had picked up a stake in Ubyx, a U.S. stablecoin settlement company.

“The stablecoin pitch has always been a digital token that maintains a stable value, usually pegged to a fiat currency, while inheriting the speed, programmability and global reach of blockchains,” PYMNTS reported Friday (Jan. 9). “What that pitch can leave out, however, is everything that makes money usable at scale. That includes compliance, consumer protection, liquidity management, accounting standards and integration with existing payment rails.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS and Citigroup last week announced the launch of a weekly podcast series offering corporate leaders practical guidance on stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.

“From the Block: Straight Talk on Stablecoins and Digital Assets for Corporate Leaders,” debuting Tuesday (Jan. 13), will be co-hosted by PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster and Citi Global Head of Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions Ryan Rugg.

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