Tether is highlighting its cooperation on sanctions enforcement as a U.S. Senate report argues it should have acted earlier and more comprehensively. The amount at issue covers freezes made throughout the year.
Tether says it helped freeze nearly $550 million in USDT during 2026 in wallets U.S. authorities linked to Iran. Its September 28 statement defends the company’s role in sanctions enforcement. A U.S. Senate report released the same day questions whether the issuer’s interventions went far enough.
The dispute is less about whether Tether can restrict wallets than when, and how comprehensively, it acts. The company emphasizes cooperation with law enforcement, while Democratic investigators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations argue that it should have taken broader action sooner.
The $550 million figure covers more than one operation
One example in Tether’s statement is the freezing of more than $344 million in USDT across two addresses in April. The company says it acted on information from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement. It cites a separate intervention in July involving more than $130 million across four wallets.
OFAC’s April 24 record confirms the addition of two TRON addresses to the sanctions entry for Iran’s central bank. That record is not an independent audit of Tether’s $550 million annual total. The company’s latest announcement does not provide an address-by-address list of every operation making up the figure.
The period matters. Nearly $550 million is Tether’s stated total for interventions during 2026. It should not be read as a newly announced single seizure, money already returned to victims or damages awarded by a court.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino described the company’s condition for intervention in the written statement:
“Tether can act when credible information is provided by law enforcement.”
Democratic investigators examined 846 wallets
According to the report summary released by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democratic investigators examined 846 distinct wallets sanctioned or targeted for seizure because of ties to Iran and its regional proxies. They say 84% transacted exclusively or almost exclusively in USDT.
The percentage describes that selected group of wallets. It does not mean 84% of all Iranian crypto transactions, or of global USDT activity. The investigators criticize Tether for failing to freeze wallets comprehensively, particularly before 2024, and for not acting proactively enough.
Blumenthal called on the Treasury and Justice departments to investigate possible violations. The publication therefore presents Democratic investigators’ findings and a request for an investigation. It is not a court judgment against Tether or a conclusion adopted by the entire Senate.
What the dispute means for USDT holders
For a dollar-linked stablecoin, price stability and the ability to transfer a balance are separate questions. The freeze dispute concerns restrictions on tokens at specific addresses rather than the value of reserves. Tether’s statement does not announce a general ban on using USDT.
That is the practical point for holders: an issuer’s sanctions powers can also affect how an asset circulates. Our guide to stablecoin risks separates reserves, redemption and custody, explaining why a dollar target and access conditions need to be assessed together.
The next development to watch is how U.S. authorities respond to the request and whether more detailed records of the freezes emerge. We track issuers’ reserve, payment and regulatory developments in our stablecoin news coverage.
