On January 11, Tether made a remarkable control move in the stablecoin market by freezing more than $182 million USDT in five separate wallet addresses on the Tron Blockchain. According to in-blockchain data and information shared by Whale Alert, addresses with balances between approximately $12 million and $50 million each, with transactions occurring on the same day, were blacklisted. The development, which was noted as one of the highest single-day restrictions announced on the Tron network in recent months, brought the scope of the company’s global compliance policies back to the agenda.
Background to Tether’s Decision to Freeze the Tron Network
These wallet restrictions are considered as part of the voluntary address freezing policy that Tether officially put into effect in December 2023. The company clearly states in its terms of use that it may freeze addresses when deemed necessary to comply with the Specially Designated Persons (SDN) list published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department. According to the policy, user information can be shared upon the request of competent authorities or when the company deems it reasonable and necessary.
The fact that freezing transactions occur on the Tron network is associated with the fact that a significant portion of USDT transfers are made through this network. Tron is used extensively in stablecoin transactions due to its low transaction costs and high volume. This feature causes auditing and monitoring activities to be carried out mainly in this ecosystem.
Market Balances Are Changing Under Stablecoin Control
Tether explains that to date, it has cooperated with more than 310 law enforcement agencies operating in 62 different jurisdictions around the world and has blocked over $3 billion USDT in the process. Supported the freezing of approximately $1.14 billion in assets in 2,380 wallets for US institutions alone as of July 2025; The FBI and the US Secret Service were among these institutions.
This scale surpasses rival stablecoin issuers. According to the AMLBot report dated December 2025, the total amount of USDT frozen by Tether since 2023 has reached nearly 30 times the $109 million USDC amount that Circle frozen during the same period. USDT also stands out in terms of market share; The circulating supply is over $187 billion and accounts for 64 percent of the total stablecoin market.
On the other hand, Chainalysis data reveals that stablecoins have become the dominant tool in illegal cryptocurrency transactions. It is stated that 84 percent of the estimated $154 billion illegal crypto volume in 2025 is carried out with stablecoins. This picture indicates that central control and compliance mechanisms are becoming increasingly critical throughout the sector.
