Fun

Tether freezes $5.2 million in USDT linked to phishing scams

News Feed - 2024-05-14 05:05:04

Prashant Jha13 minutes agoTether freezes $5.2 million in USDT linked to phishing scamsSince its inception, Tether has frozen over $1 billion worth of assets linked to illicit activities on demand from law enforcement agencies.87 Total viewsListen to article 0:00NewsOwn this piece of crypto historyCollect this article as NFTJoin us on social networksStablecoin issuer Tether froze USDT (USDT) worth $5.2 million linked to phishing scams on May 14. This USDT was stored in 12 Ethereum wallets tagged as “USDT Banned Address.” 


On-chain analytic firm Slomist’s chief security officer saidthat the addresses were being used for laundering funds from phishing scams without elaborating further.Source: SlowMist


Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, has frozen billions of dollars of assets linked to hacks, exploits and scams. In an X post, CEO Paolo Ardoino said the firm has blocked more than $1.3 billion since its inception, and approximately $1.6 million is related to terrorist finance.


In January 2022, Tether added three Ethereum addresses holding more than $150 million worth of USDT to the blacklist. In October 2022, Tether froze $8.2 million USDT on Ethereum and added 215 Ethereum-based USDT addresses to the blacklist.


In late 2022, Tether had frozen over $360 million in assets. In October 2023, the stablecoin issuer froze $817,000 USDT linked to terrorist activity in Ukraine and Israel. A month later, it froze$225 million in USDT linked to romance scammers.


The stablecoin issuer has also worked with 24 law enforcement agencies across 40+ different countries. The firm collaborated on 198 requests from law enforcement agencies to block wallets in the last 12 months and 339 in the last 3 years.


Related:Circle, Tether freezes over $65M in assets transferred from Multichain


Tether also offered secondary market controls to freeze activity connected with sanctioned persons on the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Any company or individuals controlled or owned by sanctioned countries are included on the list.


The use of decentralized ledger technology allows crypto firms to monitor funds on-chain, and the centralized nature of stablecoins allows its issuers to freeze assets linked to illicit activities on requests of law enforcement agencies.


Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comments on the nature of these banned addresses and which phishing scams they were linked with but didn"t get a response by publishing time.


Magazine:US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime# Bitcoin# Blockchain# Adoption# United States# Tether# Stablecoin# DeFiAdd reaction

News Feed

Turner Wright7 hours agoValkyrie backtracks on Ether futures contract purchases until ETF launchBloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas speculated that the SEC may have pressured Valkyrie to halt ETH futures contract purchases
Tom Mitchelhill7 hours agoWOO Network to sever ties with Three Arrows Capital after share buybackWOO Network said it had agreed to repurchase all the tokens and equity previously held by collapsed hedge fund Three Arrows
Jesse Coghlan2 hours agoLHV Bank founder has $470M worth of Ethereum, but lost his private keyRain Lõhmus, the founder of LHV Bank told Estonian media last month he’s not made much effort to recover the funds, but is
Sony subsidiary rebrands to S.BLOX, expands crypto trading
Josh O"Sullivan15 minutes agoSony subsidiary rebrands to S.BLOX, expands crypto tradingS.BLOX aims to enhance WhaleFin’s user interface and features, reflecting Sony Group"s growing crypto ambitions.108 Total views1 To
Bitcoin dip under $65K is not ‘likely’ due to Mt. Gox sell-off
Ciaran Lyons3 hours agoBitcoin dip under $65K is not ‘likely’ due to Mt. Gox sell-offThere could be seasonal, political and other reasons why Bitcoin has dipped below $65,000, but Mt. Gox Bitcoin sales aren’t one o
Russia Mulls Gold-backed Stablecoin, Lawmaker Confirms After Iran Visit
Russia Mulls Gold-backed Stablecoin, Lawmaker Confirms After Iran Visit Russia may issue a stablecoin backed by gold to use in international settlements, a high-ranking member of t
Ethereum Breaks Out Of Descending Triangle Pattern – Fakeout Or Recovery Rally?
Reason to trust Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed The highest standards in reporting and pu
Vitalik Buterin opts for faster Ethereum, EIP-7732 gives hope
Josh O"Sullivan56 minutes agoVitalik Buterin opts for faster Ethereum, EIP-7732 gives hopeEIP-7732 aims to make things easier for Ethereum validators by splitting their tasks and creating a committee to check if transact
Tom Blackstone7 hours agoLayer 2 networks hit $13B TVL, but challenges still remainData from L2Beat shows that layer 2s are seeing greater adoption than ever before as users continue to desire lower gas fees.4528 Total v
US SEC Investigating Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs and UST Collapse: Report
US SEC Investigating Do Kwon"s Terraform Labs and UST Collapse: Report The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly investigating Terraform Labs and the collapse
Tristan Greene13 hours agoSEC v. Ripple referred to judge who ordered release of ‘Hinman Documents’Judge Analisa Torres has sent the remaining issues in the SEC v. Ripple case to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.9203 T
Price analysis 7/22: SPX, DXY, BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, XRP, TON, DOGE, ADA
Rakesh Upadhyay6 hours agoPrice analysis 7/22: SPX, DXY, BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, XRP, TON, DOGE, ADADigital investment products are witnessing solid buying, but it may take a stronger trigger to propel Bitcoin to a new all-t