Tether Freezes USDT in All 131 ISIS-K-Linked Tron Wallets

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, is freezing USDT balances in no fewer than 131 Tron wallets linked to the terrorist organisation ISIS-K. This comes after the US regulator OFAC updated its sanctions list with 134 new crypto addresses.

OFAC adds 134 crypto addresses to sanctions list

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has expanded the sanctions list for ISIS-K with 134 crypto wallet identifiers. These include 131 Tron addresses and three Monero addresses. According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, the 131 Tron addresses have collectively received more than $1.4 million in crypto since 2023 and sent over $880.000.

Chainalysis’s on-chain analysis shows that the wallets in question have significant contact with mainstream crypto services. Additionally, several of the sanctioned wallets also send funds to crypto exchanges based in Syria. This demonstrates that ISIS-K is actively using public blockchain infrastructure to move money.

Tether responds immediately to the sanctions

Tether acted swiftly following OFAC’s announcement and froze the USDT balances in all 131 sanctioned Tron addresses. The stablecoin is currently at $1.00. As the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether has the technical capability to block funds on the blockchain, something the company has done frequently in the past with sanctioned parties.

The action shows how closely stablecoin issuers cooperate with governments in enforcing financial sanctions. Since Monero, as a privacy coin, has no central issuer, no comparable freezing option is available for those three addresses. The combination of government sanctions and direct action by Tether makes it significantly more difficult for ISIS-K to move funds via USDT.