Tether Freezes About $515M in USDT Across 371 Wallets Over the Past Month

Tether has blacklisted 371 wallet addresses and frozen roughly $515 million in USDT over the 30 days ending May 7, according to new figures tracking activity on Ethereum and Tron. Data from Blocksec's USDT Freeze Tracker shows the bulk of the actions occurred on Tron: 329 freezes were executed on the network, compared with 42 on Ethereum. The split aligns with USDT's heavy concentration on Tron, which has become a primary rail for stablecoin transfers in emerging markets, including Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Tether's ability to halt transfers comes from an administrative control built into the USDT smart contract. When an address is flagged—often following law-enforcement requests or verified evidence tied to theft, fraud, or sanctions breaches—Tether can prevent the wallet from moving funds. The company has previously coordinated freezes with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and Europol. The practice continues to fuel debate over centralization in crypto. Critics argue that issuer-controlled freezes undermine self-custody principles, while Tether and supporters position the mechanism as a practical tool to counter money laundering, ransomware payments, and broader financial crime. The May totals stand out, with more than half a billion dollars frozen in a single month, pointing to a possible rise in enforcement requests, a broader internal compliance sweep, or both. Blocksec's data does not break out how many freezes were driven by direct government requests versus Tether's internal controls. Tron has also drawn renewed scrutiny amid repeated flags from blockchain analytics firms for elevated illicit flows. Tron was founded by Justin Sun. Tether has not issued a public statement on the 30-day freeze totals as of this writing.