Tether Freezes Over $180 Million as Stablecoins Dominate Illicit Crypto Flows

Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, froze over $180 million in value across five separate transactions on the Tron network within 24 hours, as flagged by Whale Alert. While the exact reasons for the seizures were not disclosed, the scale suggests coordination with law enforcement or a response to a security exploit. This action underscores the centralized nature of stablecoins, as Tether possesses the 'admin keys' to freeze funds, often complying with requests from agencies like the FBI and DOJ. This compliance is increasingly necessary as criminal networks pivot to dollar-pegged tokens; stablecoins represented 84% of all illicit transaction volume by the end of 2025, according to Chainalysis data. Despite these freezes—which totaled $3.3 billion between 2023 and 2025 across Ethereum and Tron networks—Tether's market dominance remains strong, holding about 60% of the stablecoin sector.

(Source：BeInCrypto)