Tether | Crypto

The 131-wallet freeze exposes how public-chain intelligence and issuer controls are becoming real-time enforcement infrastructure. The post Tether freezes 134 ISIS terror wallets as stablecoins now sit inside the sanctions machine appeared first on CryptoSlate.

OFAC added 134 crypto wallet addresses linked to ISIS-K to its sanctions list, including 131 Tron addresses that received more than $1.4 million in crypto donations, according to Chainalysis. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 134 cryptocurrency wallet addresses identified as belonging to ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), which has been a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since September 2015. The wallet addresses were added to the OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Wednesday, which includes individuals, entities and digital asset addresses linked to terrorism, narcotics trafficking and other illicit activity. Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen the balances associated with 131 Tron addresses, while the remaining three sanctioned addresses were on the Monero network, blockchain forensics company Chainalysis said in a Wednesday report. Read more

The local rupee quote shows how enforcement pressure can make stablecoin liquidity more expensive before regulated rails are ready. The post Tether trades 8.5% above India’s dollar rate as policy pressure hits USDT access appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Ether prices are currently back at crucial long-term support levels last visited in October 2023 and April 2025. Tether stablecoin USDt has become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as Ether fell to its lowest price of the year on Friday Ether’s market capitalization dropped below $185 billion following a 5.2% price crash over 24 hours, sending the asset tumbling to $1,510 on Coinbase, according to TradingView. This allowed USDt, with a $186 billion market capitalization, to surpass the cryptocurrency.  “[The] stablecoin overtake really highlights how the market still favors stability over ETH’s volatility right now,” Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, told Cointelegraph.  Read more

Tether is focusing on stronger user demand, deeper liquidity, and broader long-term market opportunity for its leading products. Stablecoin issuer Tether is winding down Alloy by Tether and its gold-backed, overcollateralized aUSDT stablecoin after just two years to focus on products and areas with stronger demand. Tether announced its “strategic changes” on Wednesday following a review of user activity, market demand, and the company’s “broader priorities.” Tether said it has decided to focus resources on areas where it is seeing “stronger user demand, deeper liquidity and broader long-term market opportunity,” including its gold-backed digital asset XAUT and other core products across its ecosystem. Read more

Stablecoin giant Tether led a massive Series C round for German robotics firm NEURA, which will embed crypto payment tools and edge AI.

NEURA plans to integrate Tether's wallet and AI technologies into its robotics platform, enabling autonomous payments and on-device computing for machines. Tether is leading a funding round of as much as $1.4 billion for German tech company NEURA Robotics, deepening the stablecoin issuer's push into artificial intelligence and robotics. The round, which values NEURA at roughly $7 billion, is expected to include a mix of strategic and financial investors. Tether said it is leading the raise through its investment arm, which deploys capital from the company's profits and excess reserves across sectors including AI, energy and digital infrastructure. NEURA said it expects to integrate Tether's Wallet Development Kit into its robotic systems, enabling machines to receive payments and execute transactions within predefined parameters. The companies also plan to deploy Tether's QVAC AI runtime, which is designed to run models directly on devices rather than through cloud-based infrastructure. Read more

Tether and the Government of Georgia plan to launch a stablecoin, pushing a national currency directly onto private stablecoin rails before most governments have settled on how that model should work. The Tether Georgia stablecoin plan centers on GEL₮, a stablecoin representing the Georgian lari. The May 25 announcement describes GEL₮ as the official stablecoin […] The post Tether’s Georgia stablecoin plan moves early on national payment rails appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Georgia’s central bank released stablecoin rules in March covering reserve backing, issuer documents and external auditor verification. Stablecoin issuer Tether and the government of Georgia plan to launch a stablecoin called “GELT” that would represent the Georgian lari under the country’s digital asset regulatory framework. On Monday, Tether said the stablecoin is expected to support cross-border commerce and digital payments in Georgia. The company said GELT's structure, rollout and regulatory implementation will be announced at a later stage. The plan builds on Georgia’s recent efforts to develop rules for digital assets and stablecoins, including a framework covering reserve management, redemption rights, issuer oversight and Anti-Money Laundering compliance. In March, the National Bank of Georgia said it had developed rules for the initial offering of “stable virtual assets,” including requirements for full reserve backing, offering documents and external auditor verification.  Read more

There's a huge contradiction sitting at the center of modern American finance. The same industry regulators tried to isolate from the mainstream financial system has become one of the largest US Treasury buyers on the planet. Tether, the company behind the world's largest stablecoin USDT, closed 2025 with total direct and indirect exposure to US […] The post Tether’s $141 billion Treasury pile reveals the stablecoin risk now embedded in US debt appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The stablecoin issuer bought SoftBank’s 26% stake, expanding its control over the public Bitcoin holder as it moves into lending, mining and capital markets. Tether has acquired SoftBank Group’s stake in Twenty One Capital, the Bitcoin treasury company that is expanding into lending, mining and capital markets services, in a move that gives the stablecoin issuer greater control over one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin holders.  In an announcement on Wednesday, Tether said it purchased SoftBank’s roughly 26% stake for an undisclosed amount. SoftBank was one of the earliest backers of Twenty One Capital, which launched in 2025 as a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company backed by Cantor Fitzgerald and led by Jack Mallers. Neither controlling shareholder Tether nor Twenty One Capital disclosed the size of Tether's stake. As part of the ownership change, SoftBank’s representatives will step down from Twenty One Capital’s board of directors. Read more

Charles Gerstein wants a federal judge to order Tether to transfer OFAC-frozen USDT tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to victims holding unpaid terrorism judgments

A public-private partnership among Tether, Tron, and TRM Labs is expanding its global reach, working with law enforcement in 23 countries.

T3 Financial Crime Unit says it has frozen over $450 million tied to suspected illicit activity as stablecoin compliance pressures intensify. The T3 Financial Crime Unit, a joint initiative backed by Tether, Tron and blockchain analytics company TRM Labs, says it has helped freeze more than $450 million in assets linked to suspected criminal activity since its launch in 2024. The group said in a Thursday release shared with Cointelegraph that it has worked with law enforcement agencies across 23 jurisdictions to target funds tied to alleged drug trafficking, exchange hacks, North Korea-linked activity, terrorist financing and violent “wrench” attacks, including kidnappings and extortion. The unit focuses on Tether’s USDT stablecoin activity on the Tron blockchain and says it has been able to freeze assets within 24 hours in multiple emergency cases at the request of authorities. T3 FCU said it intercepted 43.9% more illicit proceeds in 2025 than in the previous year. Read more

Tether’s second reserve asset is intelligence Tether’s new QVAC project begins with an unusual phrase for a stablecoin company. The company describes “QVAC Psy” as a family of foundational models “rooted in the principles of Psychohistory.” The reference to psychohistory belongs to Isaac Asimov’s Foundation universe, where Hari Seldon uses mathematics, statistics, and social dynamics […] The post Tether launches decentralized local AI using Isaac Asimov’s Psychohistory straight out of Foundation appeared first on CryptoSlate.

BlockSec data shows Tether froze over $500 million in USDT across 370 Ethereum and Tron addresses in 30 days, adding to $1.26 billion frozen in 2025 linked to illicit activity. Tether has frozen more than $514 million in USDT across Ethereum and Tron over the past 30 days, according to onchain data from BlockSec’s USDT Freeze Tracker, highlighting the stablecoin issuer’s growing role in crypto-related enforcement actions. As of Friday, the tool shows 370 addresses blacklisted in that period, including 328 on Tron and 42 on Ethereum, with about $505.9 million frozen on Tron and $8.73 million on Ethereum. The figures indicate that most recent enforcement activity is concentrated on Tron and highlight how often the world’s largest stablecoin issuer is intervening onchain to immobilize funds flagged as high-risk or linked to investigations. Read more

Jesse Spiro, Head of Government Affairs at Tether, said at Consensus Miami 2026 that the midterms will be a key test for whether crypto’s recent policy gains in Washington can survive politically.

Circle and Tether are going to make it harder for stablecoins to feel like money, said Ben O'Neill, head of money movement at Bridge.

The top stablecoin issuer’s balance sheet remains heavily concentrated in US Treasuries as stablecoin adoption expands across emerging markets. Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) reported $1.04 billion in net profit for the first quarter of 2026, as its excess reserves rose to a record $8.23 billion, according to its latest attestation on Friday. The company said its reserves remain heavily concentrated in US Treasuries, with around $141 billion in direct and indirect exposure, while total assets of about $191.8 billion exceeded liabilities of approximately $183.5 billion as of March 31. Tether said this level of exposure makes it the 17th largest holder of US Treasuries globally. Beyond Treasuries, reserves included about $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in Bitcoin (BTC). Read more

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent letters to Howard Lutnick and Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino asking about a loan Tether reportedly made to Lutnick's family.