In a continued effort to crack down on illicit activity in the cryptocurrency space, Tether has frozen over $12.3 million worth of USDT on the Tron Network.
The freeze took place on June 15, 2025, at 9:15 am UTC, according to data from Tronscan, a blockchain explorer for Tron.
Although Tether has not issued an official statement, the action is widely believed to be in response to suspected violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws or international sanctions regulations.
The freeze by Tether aligns with AML and sanctions enforcement
Tether’s freezing policy is not new, but it has recently gained increased attention due to rising scrutiny from global regulators.
In a previous blog post dated March 7, the company emphasized that its wallet-freezing mechanism aligns with the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.
Through this framework, Tether claims to actively combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and even nuclear proliferation by disabling access to funds associated with high-risk or blacklisted individuals and entities.
While decentralization purists argue that freezing funds goes against the ethos of crypto, Tether defends the approach as a necessary compromise to ensure the lawful use of its stablecoin.
Asset freezes are intensifying amid increased Lazarus Group activities
The Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking collective, has played a prominent role in driving enforcement actions by stablecoin issuers.
The group is believed to have laundered over $200 million in stolen cryptocurrency between 2020 and 2023, triggering global concern.
To combat this, Tether has participated in freezing stolen or laundered funds, including a $374,000 freeze in November 2023 targeting addresses linked to Lazarus.
Additionally, other stablecoin issuers have blocked an estimated $3.4 million tied to the group, based on findings from crypto investigator ZachXBT.
These actions have strengthened Tether’s position as a compliance ally to regulators and law enforcement worldwide.
T3 Financial Crimes Unit’s efforts to stop illegal financial activities
The recent freeze is part of broader efforts coordinated through the T3 Financial Crimes Unit (FCU), a partnership between Tether, the Tron Network, and analytics firm TRM Labs.
The FCU was established to help authorities detect and halt illicit financial activities in real time, with a strong emphasis on transparency and regulatory cooperation.
Since its inception, the unit has frozen over $126 million worth of USDT, showcasing a commitment to fighting financial crime in the digital asset sector.
Although Tether’s control over USDT has sparked concerns about centralization, its collaboration with global partners signals a shift toward institutional-grade compliance standards in crypto.