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A wave of crypto hacks hitting decentralized finance platforms in April has renewed an old argument: whether stablecoin issuers should step in when stolen funds pass through their systems. The issue has come into focus again after Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, said it froze more than $340 million in dollar-pegged tokens at the direct request of US law enforcement.
The freeze targeted two separate wallet addresses. Tether said the funds were linked to unlawful conduct but did not provide further details on what the accounts were suspected of doing or who controlled them.
In a statement released with the announcement, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino defended the action, saying: “When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively.” The company did not respond to further requests for comment.
Tether said the freeze was carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a US Treasury agency responsible for enforcing economic sanctions. The company’s move was framed as more than routine compliance, signaling active cooperation between a major stablecoin issuer and federal authorities amid ongoing regulatory pressure on the sector.
Not all reactions were supportive. Crypto media outlet Truth for The Commoner pushed back, posting on social media: “Your stablecoins are not your stablecoins. They never were.”
The announcement arrives weeks after one of the month’s most damaging incidents, the Drift Protocol exploit, which drained $280 million from the platform.
That attack also brought Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, under additional scrutiny. Onchain analyst ZachXBT criticized Circle for failing to freeze USDC funds after the attacker routed stolen money through Circle’s native bridge over six consecutive hours.
The criticism drew wide attention across the crypto community and intensified calls for clearer standards around when and how stablecoin issuers should intervene.
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