Tether FREEZES Wallets, Announces New, Sweeping Policy

December 10, 2023 1:21 pm Comments

Tether has announced a new, sweeping policy of freezing the wallets of its users.

The company is now taking orders from the financial regulators of several countries including the United States to further control the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

So far, 41 wallets have been frozen by the stablecoin issuer as the new policies take effect. The crypto community is overwhelmingly against the decision and many have already explained that they are seeking alternatives to Tether.

Much of the entire point of crypto is to escape the senseless and draconian policies and control of centralized authorities.

Centralized cryptocurrency companies and entities are anathemas to that stated cause. Here’s what the crypto community had to say about Tether:

Bitfinex’ed was critical of Tether: “Tether introduces new policy nine years after the fact and tens of billions of dollars laundered for terrorists, sanctions evasion, nuclear proliferation, pig butchering, ponzi scammers, pyramid schemes, market manipulation and pumping and dumping, securities fraud, accounting fraud.”

Cryptopolitan reports:

The new policy involves freezing wallets already listed on the OFAC’s SDN List and any future additions. Tether’s approach is seen as a strategic decision to prevent the misuse of its tokens.

This policy reinforces Tether’s commitment to regulatory compliance and positions it as a leader in promoting a safer environment for stablecoin usage.

Previously, Tether has hesitated to freeze wallets associated with sanctioned entities, such as the Tornado Cash protocol.

CoinDesk confirmed:

Stabelcoin issuer Tether froze 41 wallets controlled by people on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List on Saturday. Tether described the actions as “precautionary measures” in a blog post.

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