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- 1 Tether reported taking action against the illicit actors targeting it.
- 2 Tether seized 32 wallets holding $873,118 worth of crypto assets, collectively.
Cryptocurrencies and their use by malicious actors, even terrorist groups, to carry out illicit activities have seen an uptick in the past some time. The recent warfare and terrorist activities shed light on the issue and the discussion on the subject takes a fresh start. Some reports found that the illicit actors prefer Tether’s USDT the most. Recently the company reported to do something about it and took some action.
Reuters reported that Tether is playing its part in eliminating the crypto funds belonging to terror groups and entities involved in warfare. In a recent action, the stablecoin issuer company seized about 32 cryptocurrency wallets it found were involved in “terror and warfare” activities in Israel and Ukraine.
Collectively, these wallets had $873,118 worth of crypto assets. Now the wallet holders will be refrained from using the amount to carry out their operations. These wallets belonged to those involved in the activities in both the countries, the breakdown of wallets and amount were not disclosed though.
According to Reuters, Tether started collaborating for the cause with both countries. It took the first action in favor of Ukraine on June 16, 2021, while it started freezing Israel-related wallets on March 16, 2023.
There were reports on several occasions claiming that the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, Tether’s USDT, is at the top when it comes to the favorite digital currency for terrorists and malicious actors.
In February, the TRM Labs report carried the insight that terrorist groups prefer Tether (USDT) and it’s their “currency of choice” when it comes to terrorist financing.
The USDT issuer company took the insight positively by taking a proactive approach toward resolving the issue.
In a recent statement, Tether has expressed its strong commitment to working closely with law enforcement agencies worldwide in the battle against cryptocurrency funding for terrorism and warfare.
Cryptocurrencies operate largely outside the conventional financial system, and the use of pseudonymous wallet addresses adds a layer of complexity to tracking the parties involved in transactions.
Tether, known for having the third-largest circulating stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, has revealed a partnership with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) aimed at countering the use of cryptocurrencies for terrorism and warfare financing. However, a Tether spokesperson declined to provide specific details regarding their initiatives.
Furthermore, Tether has refrained from disclosing information about the wallet address owners or the nature of their activities. They have not supplied a breakdown of the distribution of addresses related to Ukraine and those associated with Israel.
The simple reason for using USDT-like stablecoin is to do with its nature of cryptocurrency and use case. Being a digital asset it is capable of getting transferred anywhere in the world quickly. And since it’s rarely volatile, especially in comparison to general crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, it becomes the preferable choice for illicit actors.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
