2026-01-12 09:29:57

Recently, Tether has carried out a large-scale "freeze card operation" on the Tron network. On Sunday, it froze five wallet addresses in one go, totaling over $182 million in USDT. This is the largest single freeze on the Tron chain in recent months.

Specifically, these five addresses were frozen with USDT amounts ranging from $12 million to $50 million. As for the reason behind the freezes, Tether has not provided an explanation yet.

However, the background of this action is worth noting. As early as December last year, Tether officially introduced a wallet freeze policy, mainly to comply with the OFAC sanctions list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. In simple terms—once an address is suspected of violating regulations or is blacklisted, Tether can directly freeze the assets.

The Tether terms of service clearly state: as long as they receive a court order or believe that it is "reasonable and necessary," they have the right to freeze addresses or provide user information to relevant authorities. This power is quite significant.

This enforcement力度 is continuously escalating. According to data from their official website, Tether has cooperated with over 310 law enforcement agencies across 62 jurisdictions worldwide, freezing a total value of over $3 billion in USDT. Just collaborating with U.S. law enforcement agencies like the FBI and the US Secret Service, the scale of freezes has already been considerable.

From a certain perspective, this reflects that stablecoin issuers are becoming the front line of financial regulation—they hold the power to freeze assets, essentially assisting law enforcement in enforcing sanctions on-chain. For users, this means that the risks associated with USDT have surpassed those of traditional stablecoins, involving geopolitical and legal compliance battles.

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CountdownToBroke

· 20h ago

182 million gone directly, who knows if the next one will be themselves... --- USDT is just a long-arm regulatory tool for the dollar. What's so surprising about that? --- Reasonable and necessary? That's a pretty interesting way to put it. Tether can freeze funds whenever they want. --- Is $3 billion really the end? It feels like it will only get stricter and stricter. --- Is Tron still useful, everyone? Now I'm a bit hesitant to stockpile USDT. --- What happened to decentralization? Turns out even on-chain is being regulated and controlled. --- FBI and Secret Service are involved. Crypto really can't turn the tide anymore. --- It's ridiculous that we small retail investors still have to suffer this just to hold some USDT. --- 62 jurisdictions... the whole world is caught up, there's no escape. --- Instead of blaming Tether, it's better to blame the policies. They were also forced into it.

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WhaleWatcher

· 20h ago

1.82 billion says freeze and freeze, is this still decentralization? --- USDT has truly become a financial tool of the United States. --- No wonder I was wondering why USDT is so stable; it turns out the FBI is behind it. --- Frozen amount of 3 billion USD, this scale is even larger than some countries' foreign exchange reserves. --- Reasonable and necessary? That term is too lenient, it’s basically Tether deciding when to move your money. --- After this wave of operations by Tron, how many people are quietly exchanging coins? --- 310 law enforcement agencies using USDT as a tool simultaneously, I didn't expect this scale. --- The era where frozen assets don't even require a court order has really arrived. --- Using geopolitical games as chips in stablecoin issuance, users are just pawns. --- The term "outpost" is well used; stablecoin issuers have indeed become accomplices of regulation.

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MetaNeighbor

· 20h ago

1.82 billion in one-time freezing, this move is really quite harsh. By the way, Tether's power is getting bigger and bigger. --- Are these four words, "reasonable and necessary," enough to freeze your account? It feels like stablecoins are no longer that stable. --- Even 3 billion USD has been frozen. This is not a stablecoin at all; it's clearly a regulated USDT. --- How do those frozen addresses feel now? They were just confiscated without any explanation. --- FBI is involved? That shows that it's not so "free" on the blockchain either; it has long been infiltrated. --- I just want to know what those 5 addresses actually did. Tether's confidentiality skills are truly top-notch. --- Rather than saying freezing assets, it's more like Tether has become the US tax collector. Hmm... thinking this way makes me feel better. --- The stablecoin issuer acting as a law enforcement runner, user risks are really unlimited now. --- Thinking of this makes me nervous; I can't be sure when my own U might also be suddenly frozen. --- The total frozen amount of 3 billion USD is quite shocking.

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Degentleman

· 20h ago

182 million dollars frozen in one go, now USDT has truly become the US wallet --- Tether is just helping law enforcement, no wonder the crypto world fears it --- Who defines the words "reasonable and necessary"? Anyway, Tether calls the shots --- Frozen a total of 3 billion USD, this scale is no longer just a stablecoin risk, it's a geopolitical weapon --- Tron was exploited for 182 million this time, but the problem is you never know who will be next --- USDT is still usable, but don't expect it to be free; it was originally designed for financial control --- I'm increasingly understanding why decentralization is necessary; stablecoins are fundamentally unstable

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