Tether Freezes $550M Iran-Linked USDT Amid Senate Scrutiny
Tether's Iran-linked USDT freezes have drawn attention from the Senate, with nearly $550 million in frozen assets. The freeze includes over $344 million across two addresses in April and more than $130 million across four TRON wallets in July.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reviewed 846 Iran- and proxy-linked wallets and found that 84% transacted exclusively or almost exclusively in USDT, supporting the contention that USDT was an important rail for these wallets. Sen. Richard Blumenthal's investigation characterized USDT as a major channel in Iran's shadow-banking system.
The Senate staff statistic is a wallet-usage measure, not a measure of illicit transaction volume. A wallet that transacted almost entirely in USDT counts toward the 84%, irrespective of the size, direction or outcome of the transfers reflected in the underlying history.