Tether Freezes Half-Billion Dollars in USDT Linked to Sanctioned Iranian Entities

Tether, the issuer of the largest dollar-denominated stablecoin USDT, has frozen nearly $550 million in assets linked to Iran. The freeze was carried out at the direction of U.S. authorities and represents a significant concentration of enforcement activity involving one country and one stablecoin.

The move comes amid intensified U.S. enforcement against cryptocurrency networks that have been used by sanctioned Iranian entities to move funds internationally. Tether has strengthened its controls over recent years, introducing a voluntary wallet-freezing policy in December 2023 designed to align with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list.

Tether has worked with various law-enforcement agencies on asset freezes and seizures, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Secret Service, FBI, and others. The company has frozen more than $3 billion in assets connected with illicit activity over the preceding years while cooperating with over 290 law-enforcement agencies across more than 60 jurisdictions.