Tether CEO slams Senate report on Iran‑linked USDT freezes.
Paolo Ardoino replied on X to a Sep 28 Senate subcommittee report that says Tether was slow to freeze wallets tied to Iran and its proxies.
He says Tether has frozen reported addresses an average of four weeks before formal designations by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC and Israel’s NBCTF, and in 99% of cases before Chainalysis labeled them. He cites a 94% decline in Iran‑linked stablecoin volumes thanks to law‑enforcement partnerships.
The report examined 846 wallets, finding 84% transacted almost exclusively in USDT. It notes that after NBCTF designated 39 wallets in Jun 2023, Tether froze only five then blocked the remaining 34 in Mar 2024, with more than $34.6 million USDT leaving those wallets after the seizure notice. It also highlights three Modex‑linked wallets that received $575 million in USDT Apr‑Jun 2025 and were not blacklisted.
Tether says it helped freeze nearly $550 million in Iran‑linked USDT this year—including over $344 million in two Central Bank of Iran addresses—plus $22 million across 40 Israel‑referred cases, and a total of more than $4.9 billion (over $2.4 billion with U.S. authorities).
Do you think stablecoin issuers should freeze wallets before or after official sanctions designations?
#Tether #USDT #Sanctions #CryptoCompliance
Paolo Ardoino replied on X to a Sep 28 Senate subcommittee report that says Tether was slow to freeze wallets tied to Iran and its proxies.
He says Tether has frozen reported addresses an average of four weeks before formal designations by the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC and Israel’s NBCTF, and in 99% of cases before Chainalysis labeled them. He cites a 94% decline in Iran‑linked stablecoin volumes thanks to law‑enforcement partnerships.
The report examined 846 wallets, finding 84% transacted almost exclusively in USDT. It notes that after NBCTF designated 39 wallets in Jun 2023, Tether froze only five then blocked the remaining 34 in Mar 2024, with more than $34.6 million USDT leaving those wallets after the seizure notice. It also highlights three Modex‑linked wallets that received $575 million in USDT Apr‑Jun 2025 and were not blacklisted.
Tether says it helped freeze nearly $550 million in Iran‑linked USDT this year—including over $344 million in two Central Bank of Iran addresses—plus $22 million across 40 Israel‑referred cases, and a total of more than $4.9 billion (over $2.4 billion with U.S. authorities).
Do you think stablecoin issuers should freeze wallets before or after official sanctions designations?
#Tether #USDT #Sanctions #CryptoCompliance