Tether (USDT) froze $544 million in USDT at Turkish authorities' request, blocking assets tied to alleged illegal betting networks run by fugitive Veysel Sahin. The stablecoin issuer confirmed its cooperation with Istanbul prosecutors investigating underground gambling platforms and money laundering operations across Turkey.
The January 30 seizure represents one of Tether's largest single enforcement actions and forms part of a broader Turkish crackdown that has already frozen over $1 billion in assets across related investigations. CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg the company acted "in respect of the laws of the country" after receiving information from law enforcement.
Tether disclosed it has assisted in more than 1,800 investigations across 62 countries, resulting in $3.4 billion in frozen USDT connected to alleged criminal activity. The company works with U.S. agencies including the FBI and Secret Service alongside international law enforcement on cases ranging from fraud to sanctions evasion.
Analytics firm Elliptic reported Tether and Circle (USDC) blacklisted approximately 5,700 wallets containing roughly $2.5 billion by late 2025. About three-quarters of those addresses held USDT when frozen, with Tether accounting for most enforcement actions compared to Circle's more limited judicial-order-based approach.
The cooperation contrasts with ongoing scrutiny of USDT's role in illicit finance. U.S. prosecutors charged a Venezuelan national with laundering $1 billion largely using USDT last month, while blockchain researchers continue linking large USDT transactions to sanctions-evasion networks.
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Illicit Activity Remains Concentrated On Tron
Blockchain compliance firm Bitrace found $649 billion in stablecoins flowed through high-risk addresses in 2024, representing 5.14% of total stablecoin transaction volume. Tron-based USDT accounted for over 70% of that activity, with the network hosting 47.4% of USDT's total supply.
Despite enforcement actions, USDT continued expanding during crypto's recent downturn. The stablecoin reached $187.3 billion market capitalization in Q4 2025, growing $12.4 billion while rival stablecoins struggled. Monthly active USDT wallets climbed to 24.8 million, representing roughly 70% of all stablecoin-holding addresses globally.
The Turkey seizure highlights Tether's dual role as both the dominant stablecoin facilitating $4.4 trillion in quarterly transactions and a centralized chokepoint enabling law enforcement to freeze assets suspected of criminal ties.
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