Tag: DOJ

Tether's $4.2 Billion Enforcement Record: The World's Largest Stablecoin Has Frozen More Illicit Funds in Three Years Than Most Nations Seize in a Decade

Tether disclosed on February 27, 2026 that it has frozen $4.2 billion in USDT linked to criminal activity — with $3.5 billion of that total immobilized since January 2023. The disclosure followed a $61 million DOJ-assisted pig-butchering fraud action, a $500 million Turkey illegal gambling and money laundering freeze earlier in February, and a $182 million Tron wallet freeze in January. Elliptic's data shows stablecoin issuers have collectively blacklisted 5,700 wallets. With 84% of illicit crypto transactions passing through dollar-pegged stablecoins and USDT operating at $11.9 trillion in quarterly on-chain volume, the compliance question has become the defining governance challenge of the global stablecoin industry.