Tether freezes 32 crypto wallets holding $873,118 linked to terrorism and warfare in Israel, Ukraine

Tether froze 32 digital wallets linked to crypto-funded terrorism and warfare in Israel and Ukraine, in line with a media launch revealed Monday.

Tether, which points the world’s largest stablecoin of the identical identify, says it has been collaborating with the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel in its efforts. The collective worth of the frozen addresses is $873,118.34.

Tether’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, dubbed tether or USDT, has a market cap of $83.5 billion and affords greenback publicity to these in lots of markets internationally who would not in any other case have entry. The firm has additionally battled troubling allegations of wrongdoing for years with Tether’s business practices having been known as into query, in addition to the state of its reserves.

Tether’s newly named CEO, Paolo Ardoino, stated in a press release, “Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets. Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain, making it feasible for anyone to trace fund movements. Consequently, criminals foolish enough to employ cryptocurrencies for illegal activities will inevitably be identified.”

Tether has periodically frozen and returned stolen funds to rightful holders. The firm says it has helped 31 businesses throughout 19 international jurisdictions to freeze $835 million in property related to crime. Also, in November 2022, the corporate complied with a request by regulation enforcement to freeze $46 million price of USDT belonging to bankrupt crypto change FTX.

“Tether remains committed to promoting responsible blockchain technology use and standing as a robust defense against cybercrime,” continued Ardoino.

“We eagerly anticipate continued collaboration with global law enforcement agencies as part of our commitment to global security and financial integrity.”