Tether Says It Helped Freeze Nearly $550 Million in Iran-Linked USDT Amid Senate Scrutiny
Key Takeaways
- •Tether announced it helped authorities freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026.
- •The company said it froze more than $130 million in US across four wallets in 2026, including over $344 million tied to the Central Bank of Iran in April.
- •Senate Democratic investigators found that 84% of the 846 crypto wallets sanctioned over Iran ties had transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT.
- •Senator Richard Blumenthal called on the Treasury and Justice departments to investigate potential sanctions violations in response to the subcommittee report.
- •Tether said its cooperation with authorities worldwide has resulted in more than $4.9 billion in assets frozen in total, including over $2.4 billion connected to US authorities.
Stablecoin issuer Tether said it helped authorities freeze nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026, an announcement that came Monday as a Senate Democrat called for an investigation into the company, fresh focus on Tether's USDT, the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalization.
In a statement published on its website, the company said it has worked closely with international law enforcement for years. In 2026 alone, Tether said it froze more than $130 million in USDT across four wallets, and in April it froze more than $344 million tied to the Central Bank of Iran.
“Tether has consistently demonstrated that USDT is not a haven for sanctioned actors, terrorist organizations or criminal networks,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Tether's statement came as Democratic investigators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report alleging that USDT had become a key channel for Iran to evade sanctions. The investigators found that 84% of the 846 crypto wallets sanctioned over ties to Iran had transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT.
The findings prompted US Senator Richard Blumenthal to call on the Treasury and Justice departments to investigate potential sanctions violations, according to a press release from his office.
Tether added that its cooperation with authorities globally has resulted in more than $4.9 billion in assets being frozen in total, including more than $2.4 billion connected to US authorities.
“The record is public: the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, HSI, OFAC and authorities around the world have repeatedly worked with Tether to trace, freeze and recover assets. We will continue to make that capability available to authorities working to stop terrorism, sanctions evasion, fraud and other serious crimes,” Ardoino said.
The juxtaposition of the two announcements underscores how stablecoin compliance has moved to the center of congressional oversight, with implications for the wider stablecoin market. From here, attention turns to whether the Treasury and Justice departments open investigations in response to Blumenthal's request, and to how the parallel Justice Department probe into Binance's Iran compliance, reported by Bloomberg, develops.
Related: Manhattan US Attorney leading probe into Binance's Iran compliance: Bloomberg
