Tether freezes $515M in USDT across Ethereum, Tron

Tether froze roughly $515 million in USDT across 371 addresses on the Ethereum and Tron networks in the 30 days ending May 7, with 329 freezes on Tron and 42 on Ethereum, according to data from Blocksec’s USDT Freeze Tracker.

The freezes and blacklists prevent the affected wallet addresses from moving their USDT. The USDT smart contract includes a centralized administrative key that allows Tether to block addresses flagged for illicit activity.

Addresses are typically frozen after being identified for theft, fraud or sanctions violations. Freezes are often carried out following requests from law enforcement agencies. Tether has previously cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice and Europol on similar actions.

Most freeze actions in this period occurred on the Tron network, reflecting heavier USDT use on that chain in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Blocksec’s tracker does not specify how many freezes were ordered by government authorities versus those initiated through Tether’s internal compliance processes.

The Tron network has been flagged by blockchain analytics firms for high volumes of illicit fund flows, a factor noted alongside the higher number of freezes on that chain during the 30-day period.

Tether had not released a public statement detailing the 30-day totals as of May 7.