Tether Freeze Process Criticized for Leaving Window of Opportunity for Funds to Escape

Tether has faced criticism for its freeze process after an analyst revealed that a significant delay between proposal and finalization on the blockchain allowed funds to escape.

The analysis of 2,955 Tether freeze events on Ethereum and TRON networks found an average time gap of 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 15 seconds between freeze proposal and execution.

This delay has been exploited by some users, with at least 60 addresses completely emptying their holdings before the freeze could take effect, moving a total of $20.4 million in USDT.

Tether's Iran-linked freezes have now totaled about $475 million, including a separate $344 million lock in April, but this gap in the freeze mechanism can be manipulated by sophisticated actors.