In a letter addressed to two senators and shared with some US authorities, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has made it known that the FBI and US Secret Service have been integrated into the company’s platform to prevent criminals from using USDT stablecoins. Tether also claims to have frozen 435 million USDT to date.
Tether works with FBI and US Secret Service
Companies in the crypto sector continue the fight against the use of cryptocurrency for illicit purposes. In a letter addressed to U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and French Hill, Tether has detailed its internal policy to prevent criminals from using its USDT stablecoin.
More policies anti-money laundering and KYC policies, as well as alignment with the Office of Foreign Assets and Controls (OFAC), two major measures have been taken by Tether to combat the illegal use of USDT. The company claims to have integrated the FBI and secret services to its platform. This integration is designed to support law enforcement in the fight against nefarious activities and to help recover funds from victims.
We have integrated the FBI and Secret Service into our platform.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO Tether.
Beyond the integration of FBI and secret services to its platform, Tether relies on the freezing of illegal USDT assets to combat the illegal use of its stablecoin. In its letter, Paolo Ardoino announced that Tether has already frozen approximately 326 portfolios containing around $435 million in USDT. The last frozen account is undoubtedly that of Ledger hacker.
It’s difficult to ignore Senators Lummis and French
The letter from Tether has been shared with the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, it is specifically aimed at U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and French Hill. Known to be pro-crypto, these two U.S. lawmakers recently harshly criticized Tether and Binance.
In a letter addressed to the u.s. department of justice, they accused them of facilitating crypto transactions financing the war in Ukraine and Israel. The two senators have called for legal action to be taken against the two companies, believing that they are helping to tarnish the image of cryptocurrency.
Coincidence or maybe not: a few days after the letter from the two senators, Binance buckled in the face of legal pressure from the US authorities. The exchange has accepted to pay more than $4 billion in fines. The founder of the CZ exchange was obliged to resign from the management of the company and wait for his conviction in the USA. Platform promoters such as the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo were not spared.
It is interesting to note that crypto companies are coming into line with State regulators. This helps to reduce State pressure and block transactions by malicious actors. However, integrating State actors into the crypto platform as Tether has done clearly goes against the philosophy of freedom behind the creation of crypto. From now on, US authorities can block a transaction or freeze USDT funds at will. This opens the door to abuse.
I dream of a world where every citizen has total control over themselves, including their finances. I believe that Bitcoin is one of the tools that will achieve this revolution. Since 2019, I am learning about this cryptocurrency and spreading the word around.
