Tether, the leading global stablecoin company, has restated its commitment to collaborating closely with law enforcement authorities worldwide in order to address the issue of terrorism and conflict financed by cryptocurrencies.

Thus far, Tether has provided assistance to 31 authorities on a global scale, conducting investigations in 19 different countries. This collaboration has resulted in the freezing of a cumulative sum of $835 million in assets, mostly linked to theft incidents such as blockchain and exchange hacks. A smaller fraction of these frozen assets may be attributed to other criminal activities. 

Of this total, $873,118.34 was frozen from 32 addresses on Tether after they were connected to illegal activities in Israel and Ukraine, according to the company in a blog post on October 16. To combat terrorism and war financing using cryptocurrencies, Tether has partnered with the NBCTF in Israel.

Tether security

Tether’s ability to freeze and return stolen funds to legitimate users demonstrates the innovative new capabilities and level of security that blockchain technologies can bring to the global financial system, even if it only represents a tiny drop in the $445 billion cost to the global economy due to cybercrime.

Tether has been supportive of law enforcement, but there are still journalists and critics within the blockchain industry who try to make a case against cryptocurrencies without holding the slow or poorly equipped traditional financial system accountable for failing to prevent the funding of criminal activities.

Tether CEO, Paolo Ardoino:

“Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency transactions are not anonymous; they are the most traceable and trackable assets. Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain, making it feasible for anyone to trace fund movements. Consequently, criminals foolish enough to employ cryptocurrencies for illegal activities will inevitably be identified.”

The preemptive efforts taken by Tether in cooperation with law enforcement agencies throughout the world demonstrate the industry’s ability to successfully counter illicit usage of cryptocurrencies. This demonstrates how the immutability of blockchain transactions may serve as an effective deterrence against criminal behavior.