Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, has frozen 32 crypto addresses linked to terrorism and warfare in Ukraine and Israel. This move was announced in a blog post published on Monday.
The company confirmed that it had been collaborating with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) to combat cryptocurrency-funded terrorism and warfare. Freezing these addresses means that the wallet users won’t be able to send USDT until the freeze is lifted. According to Tether, the collective value of the 32 wallets held was $873,118 in USDT.
Tether also said that it has so far worked with 31 agencies across 19 jurisdictions and frozen $835 million in assets, mainly associated with theft.
In addition, the company has partnered up with countries like the US, Brazil, Singapore, Philippines, Germany, South Korea, Norway, Canada, Israel, India, the UK and Ukraine to tackle terrorism and warfare funding.
The CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, commented that, “Tether remains committed to promoting responsible blockchain technology use and standing as a robust defence against cybercrime. We eagerly anticipate continued collaboration with global law enforcement agencies as part of our commitment to global security and financial integrity.”
This news follows Binance’s actions a week before, when it helped Israeli police seize Hamas-linked crypto wallets after a surprise attack by the terrorist organisation quickly turned into war. In November 2022, Tether had frozen $46 million worth of USDT stablecoins after receiving a law enforcement request regarding an FTX wallet during the exchange’s collapse.
