According to the latest data from WhaleAlert, Tether froze over $182 million in USDT within 24 hours on January 11, impacting five wallets on the Tron blockchain, with individual amounts ranging from $12 million to $50 million.
Although cryptocurrencies are designed to be censorship-resistant, stablecoins — which dominate 60% of the market — are highly centralized. Tether has the ability to freeze funds directly at the smart contract level and frequently collaborates with agencies like the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security for enforcement actions.
Data from Chainalysis shows that by the end of 2025, stablecoins accounted for as much as 84% of all illicit transactions. According to AMLBot, between 2023 and 2025, Tether froze approximately $3.3 billion in assets and blacklisted 7,268 wallet addresses.
Despite these actions, USDT's market cap remains strong at $187 billion, continuing to dominate the stablecoin market with a 60% share.