USDT Dominance in Iranian-Linked Wallets Raises Sanctions Evasion Concerns

A U.S. Senate investigation has found that USDT is widely used in cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran's sanctions evasion and terrorist financing.

The report, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, analyzed transactions involving 846 crypto wallets sanctioned or blocked over links to Iran.

Of these, 87% of the 757 wallets identified as being tied to terrorist financing primarily transacted in USDT.

Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, rejected criticism that USDT serves as a haven for sanctioned entities, saying public blockchains make fund flows traceable and allow the company to respond to law enforcement requests.