Tether Freezes $5.2 Million USDT Related to Phishing Scam!

Bittime - Tether, the world's larger stablecoin issuer, is back in the spotlight after freezing $5.2 million USDT allegedly linked to a phishing scam.

Tether Freezes Action on Troubled USDT

Reporting from Cointelegraph, USDT worth $5.2 million was frozen on May 14, 2024. These funds were stored in 12 Ethereum wallets that had been marked as "Deactivated USDT Addresses" by Tether.

A top security official from on-chain analytics firm Slomist, who was not named, confirmed that the address was used to launder money resulting from phishing scams. However, further details regarding the modus operandi of the fraud were not disclosed.

Check Today's Crypto Market:

History of Asset Freezes by Tether

This is not the first time Tether has frozen assets related to illegal activity. Previously, Tether had frozen billions of dollars in crypto assets suspected of being linked to hacking, exploitation and fraud.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino once stated that his company had blocked more than $1.3 billion in assets since its inception. About $1.6 million of that was frozen on suspicion of links to terrorism financing.

Previous Tether Asset Freeze

• January 2022: Blacklisted three Ethereum addresses containing more than $150 million USDT.
• October 2022: Freezes $8.2 million USDT on Ethereum and adds 215 Ethereum-based USDT addresses to the blacklist.a
• End of 2022: Freezes more than $360 million in assets.
• October 2023: Freezes $817,000 USDT related to terrorism activity in Ukraine and Israel.
• November 2023: Freezes $225 million USDT related to romance scams.

Also Read: Tether, the Controversial Stablecoin

Tether's Cooperation with Law Enforcement

In an effort to combat illegal activities in the crypto ecosystem, Tether is known to have collaborated with 24 law enforcement agencies in more than 40 countries.

Over the past 12 months, Tether has collaborated on 198 requests from law enforcement agencies to block crypto wallets. This figure has increased to 339 requests in the last 3 years.

Also Read How to Buy Crypto:

Tether Secondary Market Control

Tether also offers secondary market controls to freeze activity associated with individuals or entities on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list created by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) .

This SDN list contains the names of companies or individuals controlled or owned by sanctioned countries.

Also Read: Complete Guide to Understanding Tether (USDT) 2024

The Dilemma between Decentralization and Control

The blockchain technology underlying crypto is essentially decentralized, meaning no one entity has complete control.

However, the centralized nature of stablecoins, such as the USDT issued by Tether, allows issuers to freeze assets associated with illegal activity at the request of law enforcement.

This situation has given rise to debate regarding the balance between decentralization and control in crypto. Many have asked about the extent of control a centralized entity like Tether should have over a supposedly decentralized one.

Check Crypto Prices Today:

How to Buy Crypto with Bittime

You can buy and sell crypto assets in an easy and safe way via Bittime . Bittime is one of the best crypto applications in Indonesia which is officially registered with Bappebti. 

To be able to buy crypto assets on Bittime , make sure you have registered and completed identity verification. Apart from that, also make sure that you have sufficient balance by depositing some funds into your wallet. For your information, the minimum purchase of assets on Bittime is IDR 10,000. After that, you can purchase crypto assets in the application. Learn Complete Guide How to Buy Crypto on Bittime . 

Monitor price chart movements of Bitcoin (BTC) , Ethereum (ETH) , Solana (SOL) and other cryptos to find out today's crypto market trends in real-time on Bittime.

Also Read:

Tether Denies UN Accusations Regarding USDT

Tether CEO: USDT Prioritizes Transparency and Complies with Rules!

Tether Denies Deutsche Bank on Stablecoin Crash Theory!

DISCLAIMER : This article is informational in nature and is not an offer or invitation to sell or buy any crypto assets. Trading crypto assets is a high-risk activity. Crypto asset prices are volatile, where prices can change significantly from time to time and Bittime is not responsible for changes in fluctuations in crypto asset exchange rates.