Stablecoin company Tether has recently announced a broadened collaborative effort with INHOPE, a platform dedicated to fighting illicit online propagation of child sexual abuse material (CASM) as per an official press release.
Since Tether’s infrastructure is mostly focused towards financial transactions pegged on a one-to-one basis with the U.S. dollar (USDT), it will lend its technology to INHOPE to help crack down on any misuse of financial transactions to enable child abuse.
Tether became INHOPE’s first cryptocurrency partner in 2023, and the new initiative deepens the relationship between the two parties.
The stablecoin company has been known to assist governments before when it comes to cracking down on crime, such as pig butchering fraud and money laundering.
“Blockchain technology has the power to bring transparency and accountability to financial transactions, making it a powerful tool in the fight against illicit activity. Working alongside law enforcement, lawmakers, and standard-setting bodies worldwide, Tether is committed to being a positive force in the crypto space by highlighting the risks of child exploitation and helping to implement sensible risk-mitigating controls across the industry,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Cryptocurrency used for criminal activity continues to be a key issue. A Chainalysis report on crypto crime trends noted $40.9 billion in cryptocurrency was received by illicit addresses in 2024, of which transactions for child abuse material are a part.
63% of all illicit transactions were conducted using stablecoins in the same year, representing a gradual shift away from BTC as the choice of crypto for criminal activity.
Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin by market capitalization according to CoinMarketCap.