Senate Investigation Finds Tether's USDT Used to Evade Iran Sanctions
A new investigation by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found that Tether's USDT stablecoin is being used to evade sanctions in Iran. The probe, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, reviewed blockchain records tied to 846 wallets sanctioned or targeted for seizure over links to Iran and regional proxies.
The analysis revealed that 84% of those wallets traded exclusively or almost exclusively in USDT, while 87% of 757 wallets implicated in Iranian terrorism financing had predominantly used the same token.
Tether's Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino disputed the findings, stating that public blockchains give authorities more visibility than cash and that Tether acts when law enforcement provides credible leads. However, Blumenthal framed the finding as a national-security failure as much as a compliance gap.