Tether, the stablecoin issuer, took precautionary measures by freezing 41 wallets controlled by individuals on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. This action, described as a precaution, followed the identification of several wallets using the Tornado Cash coin-mixing service over the past six months. Notably, one of the frozen wallets was linked to the $625 million Ronin Bridge attack, attributed to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group by the U.S. Treasury Department. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that the voluntary freezing of wallet addresses aims to enhance the positive use of stablecoin technology and foster a safer ecosystem for all users.
In October, Tether took action to freeze 32 wallets associated with terrorism and conflict in Ukraine and Israel. Additionally, last month, the stablecoin issuer froze $225 million connected to a human trafficking syndicate, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
