T3 unit freezes more than $450M in USDT on Tron

The T3 Financial Crime Unit, backed by Tether, Tron and TRM Labs, reported it froze more than $450 million in USDT on the Tron blockchain since launching in 2024. The group has worked with law enforcement in 23 jurisdictions to target funds tied to alleged drug trafficking, exchange hacks, North Korea-linked activity, terrorist financing and violent “wrench” attacks such as kidnappings and extortion.

The unit focuses on tracing USDT flows on Tron and combines blockchain analytics with law enforcement requests to carry out emergency asset freezes. The release noted multiple cases where assets were frozen within 24 hours at the request of authorities.

T3 FCU reported it intercepted 43.9% more illicit proceeds in 2025 than in 2024. TRM Labs estimated overall illicit crypto flows reached $158 billion in 2025.

The Financial Action Task Force earlier described the unit as an “invaluable resource” in reporting on public-private partnerships.

Separate on-chain data showed more than $500 million in USDT had been frozen across chains during a recent 30-day period. Tether did not respond to requests for clarification on how the $450 million tied to T3 FCU relates to the company’s broader blacklisting and freezing across different blockchains, and how much of the total specifically involved Tron-based USDT.

Tron characterized itself as an “agnostic technology provider,” saying it cannot directly monitor every user or block every transaction. The network indicated that identifying and stopping illicit activity falls to partners such as stablecoin issuers, analytics firms and law enforcement.

T3 FCU reported its tracing work includes cases linked to cross-border criminal networks and high-profile exchange breaches. The unit provided the figures in a release describing its activity since 2024.