Tether Freezes $835 Million in Illicit Assets, Focuses on Israel and Ukraine

Tether, the world's largest stablecoin company, is intensifying its efforts to curb the illegal use of cryptocurrencies for funding terrorism and other criminal activities. The company has been actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies worldwide, recently addressing mainly armed conflict in Ukraine and Israel. As a result, it has frozen $835 million in assets, primarily related to thefts and exchange hacks.

Tether's Global Effort to Thwart Criminal Activities

Tether has so far assisted 31 law enforcement agencies across 19 countries, including the United States, Brazil, and Germany, among others. The company has frozen a total of $835 million in assets, primarily related to theft as in blockchain and exchange hacks. A smaller portion of the frozen assets is linked to other types of crimes.

The company has specifically frozen 32 addresses containing approximately $873,118, which were identified as being involved in illegal activities in Israel and Ukraine. Tether has been collaborating with the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing in Israel to counteract cryptocurrency-funded terrorism.

While the $835 million frozen by Tether represents a small fraction of the $445 billion lost globally to cybercrime, it showcases the potential of blockchain technology in enhancing security within the financial system. According to Tether, the ability to freeze and return stolen funds to their rightful owners is an innovative feature that traditional financial systems often lack.

Paolo Ardoino, the newly appointed CEO of Tether, emphasized that contrary to popular belief that cryptocurrency transactions are far from anonymous. He noted that the blockchain records every transaction, making tracing fund movements and identifying criminals easier.

"Consequently, criminals foolish enough to employ cryptocurrencies for illegal activities will inevitably be identified," Ardoino added. The new CEO was appointed just a few days ago, and the company officially announced it on 13 October. He began his journey in the cryptocurrency market in 2014 at Bitfinex where he works as the CTO. According to the official press release, he will continue to hold this position.

Israel Seizes Crypto Donations to Hamas

As the conflict between Israel and Gaza escalates, Israel Police's Lahav 433 cyber unit concentrates on disrupting the financial channels supporting Hamas. The unit collaborates with various intelligence agencies, including the Ministry of Defense's National Headquarters for Economic Combating Terrorism and the General Security Service. This initiative was triggered by Hamas' public fundraising campaign on social media, which sought cryptocurrency donations due to heavy economic sanctions.

Since the war broke out, Israeli law enforcement has closed over 100 crypto exchange accounts on Binance linked to Hamas, the Financial Times reported recently. The authorities are still seeking information on up to 200 additional crypto accounts, most of which are on Binance.

While the exact amount raised is unknown, it's worth noting that US authorities imposed sanctions on Hamas' investment office in 2022, which reportedly had assets of $500 million. According to UN estimates, cryptocurrency accounts for 20%, a significant amount of global terror funding.

In a parallel development, Israeli crypto and web3 communities have initiated a humanitarian campaign to assist Israeli citizens impacted by the ongoing conflict financially. Similar fundraising efforts were observed last year when Russia attacked Ukraine.