Tether said it froze more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron wallets after U.S. authorities shared information tied to unlawful conduct. The company said it took the action in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other U.S. law enforcement agencies.
The freeze confirmed an earlier onchain blacklist action recorded on April 23. Tether did not identify the investigation behind the move or say when the wallets were first flagged, but said the case involved sanctions evasion, criminal networks, or other illicit activity.
In a statement, the company described the action as part of its work with authorities when wallets are linked to unlawful conduct. It added that public blockchains give investigators a visible trail that can help track funds and stop further movement.
Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino said Tether acts when it identifies credible links to criminal actors or sanctioned entities. He said, “USD₮ is not a safe haven for illicit activity.”
He added that Tether combines blockchain monitoring with direct coordination with law enforcement to stop funds before they move.
Two Tron wallets carried the frozen funds
Blockchain security firm PeckShield had earlier reported that two Tron wallets were blacklisted on April 23. The wallets, shown as TNiq9…QZH81 and TTiDL…pjSr9, appeared on Tron explorers before Tether released its statement. At that stage, neither Tether nor Tron had publicly explained the blacklist action.
The two addresses held about $213 million and $131 million in USDT, based on public blockchain data cited in the reports. That brought the total to more than $344 million. Tether later confirmed the freeze, making it one of the largest blacklist actions the company has disclosed.
In addition, Tether used the announcement to outline its broader work with law enforcement. The company said it now works with more than 340 agencies across 65 countries. It said this cooperation has supported more than 2,300 cases worldwide, including over 1,200 tied to U.S. authorities.
The company also said it has frozen more than $4.4 billion in assets linked to illicit activity, with more than $2.1 billion tied to U.S. law enforcement. Tether said these cases show that issuers can act with investigators during active probes instead of waiting until funds have already moved through multiple wallets or platforms.
Latest action exceeds earlier Tron freeze cases
The $344 million freeze exceeds Tether’s earlier large Tron-related actions. In January 2026, the company froze about $182 million across five Tron wallets in what it described as a law-enforcement-linked move. That action had stood as one of the company’s biggest public blacklist events before the latest case.
More recently, on April 17, Tether said it blocked 3.29 million USDT from hacker wallets linked to the Rhea Finance hack. The company said the move was meant to protect user funds and prevent the attacker from moving the assets to other wallets.
Tether also referred to past enforcement actions that U.S. authorities had acknowledged. The U.S. Department of Justice had earlier cited Tether’s support in cases that led to the seizure of nearly $61 million and about $225 million tied to pig butchering fraud.
Tether said those cases, like the latest freeze, showed that digital assets on public blockchains can still fall within the reach of investigators when issuers and law enforcement work together.
Tether links the freeze to its compliance stance
Tether said it follows OFAC guidelines tied to the Specially Designated Nationals list and keeps a zero-tolerance policy toward criminal use of its products.
The company said that when authorities identify wallets linked to sanctions evasion or other unlawful activity, it can move to restrict those assets and prevent further transfers.
The company framed the freeze as part of a routine response to lawful requests from authorities in the United States and abroad.
“When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively,” Ardoino said.
He also said recent events had shown what can happen when platforms fail to respond quickly and enforcement breaks down.
Other business updates from Tether
The freeze came during a week that also brought fresh disclosures tied to Tether’s wider business activity. On April 20, KAIO said it had raised $8 million in a strategic funding round backed by Tether, Systemic Ventures, Further Ventures, and Laser Digital.
KAIO said the new capital brought its total funding to $19 million and would help expand its onchain fund distribution infrastructure across more asset classes.
On the same day, Tether disclosed a 1.95 million-share position in Antalpha, a Bitcoin mining finance firm linked to Bitmain’s broader ecosystem.
A regulatory filing dated April 20 showed that Tether and related entities held about 8.2% of Antalpha’s outstanding equity after the company’s 2025 initial public offering.