Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, assisted Turkish authorities in freezing roughly $544 million in cryptocurrency tied to an alleged illegal betting and money-laundering network, part of a broader crackdown on underground financial activity.
On January 30, prosecutors in Istanbul announced a major enforcement action targeting assets they believe were used in running unlawful online gambling platforms and laundering proceeds through digital assets. Tether, which controls one of the largest stablecoin supplies in the world, carried out the freeze at Turkey’s request after law enforcement provided information and verification, the company’s CEO confirmed.
How the Freeze Happened
The frozen assets were linked to Veysel Sahin, a figure accused by Turkish prosecutors of operating illegal betting networks that allegedly processed funds through cryptocurrency to hide their origin. Tether reviewed law enforcement data and then blacklisted or froze the relevant wallets on its platform, effectively locking access to the funds.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company cooperates with authorities when requests meet legal criteria, adding that the firm has previously worked with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI in other cases.
Part of a Larger Enforcement Trend
This action is not isolated. According to on-chain analysis reported by outlets, Tether has assisted authorities in more than 1,800 investigations across 62 countries, resulting in roughly $3.4 billion in frozen USDT tied to suspected illicit activity in total.
In related enforcement moves, analytics firms have noted that stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle have blacklisted thousands of wallets, approximately 5,700 addresses holding an estimated $2.5 billion, many of which contained USDT when they were frozen.
A Broader Crackdown in Turkey
Turkey has aggressively pursued illegal online betting and financial crimes in recent months. In addition to the USDT freeze, officials have seized more than $1 billion in assets linked to related criminal investigations, including confiscations of property and other financial holdings tied to suspects in crypto-linked operations.
The involvement of a major stablecoin issuer like Tether underscores how central digital assets have become in cross-border financial enforcement, especially as authorities try to cut off illicit flows that increasingly use crypto as a tool to move and conceal funds.
What This Means for Crypto Markets
The Tether freeze raises important questions for the broader crypto ecosystem. On one hand, cooperation with law enforcement demonstrates a willingness by major providers to comply with legal requests and curb criminal misuse of digital assets. On the other hand, it highlights that even decentralized technologies and stablecoins are not immune to centralized controls when issuers hold the power to freeze or blacklist addresses.
For traders and users, this enforcement trend may signal that regulatory and law enforcement actions can reach into core infrastructure, potentially affecting liquidity and wallet accessibility for certain addresses. The balance between blockchain transparency, censorship resistance, and legal compliance remains a central theme as crypto markets grow.
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