Key Takeaways
- Tether has criticized rival Circle for failing to address on-chain crime.
- The stablecoin issuer said its competitors are not proactive in freezing wallets related to fraud.
- Tether claims to have frozen around 1,850 wallets involved in illicit activities.
Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, has slammed its rival Circle for failing to freeze wallets related to fraud schemes.
The comments follow Tether’s recent freezing and blocklisting of wallet addresses linked to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
Tether Blasts Circle
In a Sept. 18 blog post, the stablecoin issuer claimed it had frozen several wallets that its competitors had not—and directly called out Circle.
Tether claimed that its closest competitors, such as Circle, only freeze wallets in response to direct legal orders.
However, the stablecoin issuer claims to freeze wallets in collaboration with law enforcement or whenever necessary.
“As a result, Tether has frozen many wallets that its competitors have not,” Tether wrote.
Tether alleged that if Circle had frozen the same wallets as they did on the Ethereum blockchain, its competitor would have prevented $219 million of USDC from being sent from fraud-linked wallets.
There would have been 2.7 times more USDC saved than the $80 million that Circle “has frozen to date,” Tether wrote.
Tether claimed that $96 million out of the $219 million was related to the Poly Network hack in August 2021. It also said that their “timely freezing of stolen USDT led to the hacker returning the stolen funds.”
A Leader in Supporting Law Enforcement
Tether has labeled itself as an industry leader in supporting law enforcement agencies across the globe.
“Through robust compliance measures via partnerships with organizations like Chainalysis and proactive illicit finance prevention through initiatives such as our T3 Financial Crime Unit, Tether has been instrumental in combating financial crime,” the platform wrote.
The platform claims to have frozen around 1,850 wallets involved in illicit activities and recovered over $113.8 million in assets.
Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs Establishes Financial Crime Unit
Earlier this month, Tether announced it was partnering with blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs and TRON to create a Financial Crime Unit.
Tron founder Justin Sun stated on X that the collaboration looks to ensure that “blockchain technology is used to make our world a better place and sends a clear message that illicit activity is not welcome in our industry.”
Tether noted that USDT on TRON has attracted scammers and other threat actors.
“The establishment of the T3 FCU represents a significant step towards impeding the ability of malicious actors to launder and utilize the proceeds of crime, safeguarding the integrity of the TRON blockchain,” Tether said in a statement.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
