- Tether announced that it froze 32 addresses containing about $873K that were directly linked to illegal activities in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza that could spill over to Lebanon soon.
- Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) has collaborated with different web3 firms like Chainalysis and seized over $1.7 million from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force.
Tether, the leading stablecoins company that controls over $83 billion in the USDT market, has announced that it aided in the freezing of 32 addresses containing $873,118, which is believed to be directly connected to illegal activities in Ukraine and Israel.
As a result, Tether has aided 31 agencies from 19 different jurisdictions in freezing over $835 million that is believed to be proceeds of cybercrime. Notably, Tether announced that it worked closely with the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF) in identifying and freezing the said crypto addresses.
According to the upcoming Tether CEO, Paolo Ardoino, the company will continue to work closely with law enforcement around the world to ensure that digital assets are not used for illegal activities and to perpetrate crime. Moreover, Ardoino highlighted that digital assets payments are easily traceable on the blockchain hence the company remains committed to responsible blockchain technology adoption.
“Cryptocurrency is a powerful tool, but it is not a tool for crime. 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 cryptocurrency for illegal activities will inevitably be identified. Tether remains committed to promoting responsible blockchain technology use and standing as a robust defense against cybercrime,” Ardoino noted.
Cryptocurrency Caught Under Geopolitical Crossfires
The notable growth of the cryptocurrency market to a trillion-dollar industry has attracted significant differences with various regulators across the world. The crypto market has been used to represent marginalized economies to the extent that the global superpowers are undeniably feeling the shift.
The ability of people to organize themselves without the interference of central governments has worked for and against the crypto market. Moreover, law enforcement around the world has been working to crash illegal activities perpetrated by crypto assets.
In July this year, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the NBCTF has for the first time seized crypto assets belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force amounting to about $1.7 million. Notably, Israel’s law enforcement worked closely with Chainalysis to identify and seize the assets belonging to the sanctioned group.
The growth of privacy coins has been suppressed by the United States government which recently sanctioned the Tornado Cash crypto mixer and arrested the developers associated with the platform.
The seizures of digital assets have, however, increased the demand for anonymity-focused digital assets. For instance, Monero (XMR), one of the leading privacy coins, had a total market capitalization of about $2.7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $72 million.
