Tether revealed it is working with the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) of Isreal in an effort to help stop terrorism and war from being funded by cryptocurrency. As a result of the cooperation, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin said it has frozen at least 32 crypto wallets suspected of having links to the ongoing armed conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.

Tether said the crypto wallets it has frozen collectively hold a total of $873,118. In particular, It has disabled most digital wallets' “send USDT” function. This move prohibits account owners from transferring funds, and they will not be able to do so until Tether unfreezes the assets, as per CNBC.

Helping Agencies Recover Stolen Funds

This is not the first time that Tether has frozen accounts to help fight crimes and conflicts. In fact, Tether shared that it has so far helped 31 agencies with fund recoveries by freezing accounts across its 19 jurisdictions worldwide.

It freezes assets and then returns the stolen funds to rightful owners. Most recently, it has complied with a request by authorities to hold $46 million worth of USDT deposited under the bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX.

“Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets,” Paolo Ardoinio, the chief executive officer of Tether, said in a statement regarding the company’s capability to freeze any accounts. “Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain, making it feasible for anyone to trace fund movements. Consequently, criminals foolish enough to employ cryptocurrencies for illegal activities will inevitably be identified.”

Blacklisting of Addresses that are Funding Wars

Crypto Briefing reported that Tether started freezing suspicious funds after it experienced hacking in 2017, where the hacker was able to steal $30 million worth of the USDT stablecoin. Since the incident, the company has blacklisted more than 900 Ethereum addresses.

In this latest case, Tether decided to freeze 32 accounts following news that Binance assisted the Israeli authorities in freezing crypto associated with the Hamas militant group.

“Tether remains committed to promoting responsible blockchain technology use and standing as a robust defense against cybercrime,” Ardoinio further explained. “Cryptocurrency is a powerful tool, but it is not a tool for crime.”

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