Report: Tether freezes $46M of FTX’s USDT on Tron blockchain, setting new precedent

Tether has thus far only frozen USDT funds held in private wallets when requested by law enforcement.

According to blockchain transaction data provided by WhaleAlert.io on Nov. 10, Tether appears to have frozen 46,360,701 USDT ($46,274,472) owned by troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX in its Tron blockchain wallet. The move comes one day after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Justice Department began investigating FTX over its liquidity crisis. 

A spokesperson from Tether stated on Oct. 11 that the firm only freezes privately held wallets when it firm receives a legitimate request from a verified law enforcement agent to do so and that “we do not freeze wallets of exchanges or services.” If confirmed, the freeze imposed against FTX’s wallet would be the first of its kind. The same day, Japanese authorities ordered FTX to halt operations in the country after the exchange halted withdrawals.

This is a developing news story and will be updated accordingly.