Tether Freezes $550M in USDT Tied to Iran-Linked Wallets

Tether said it has frozen about $550 million in USDT after U.S. authorities identified the associated wallets as linked to the Central Bank of Iran and Iran's sanctions network. In a statement dated Sept. 28, the stablecoin issuer said its cooperation with U.S. and international authorities has supported more than 2,900 investigations worldwide, including over 1,600 involving U.S. law enforcement. Tether said that in April 2026 it helped freeze more than $344 million in USDT from two addresses based on information provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement. OFAC designated the addresses the next day as digital currency identifiers associated with the Central Bank of Iran, tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and Hezbollah. In July 2026, the Treasury broadened its designations to include four additional TRON addresses, leading to the freezing of more than $130 million in USDT across those wallets. CEO Paolo Ardoino said USDT is not a safe haven for sanctioned actors, terrorist groups, or criminal networks, adding that public blockchains allow authorities to trace fund flows and enable Tether to act when law enforcement provides credible information. Tether also said it works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies in 67 countries and that its wallet-freezing policy aligns with OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.