How Criminals Move Millions in USDT Before Tether Can Freeze It

On June 5, 2025, a Tron wallet held $37.3 million in USDT when Tether began blacklisting it. The freeze took 5.7 minutes to pass through the issuer’s multisignature wallet. Two minutes before the final approval, the entire balance moved.

So, there is always a dramatic race between networks like Tether and criminals, often decided in seconds.

Latest research from blockchain analytics firm BitOK found that Tether now completes a typical USDT blacklist faster than a year earlier.  The first approval can still reveal the target address on-chain before enough signers complete the freeze.

BitOK classified 107 events as clean interceptions in the latest 12-month period, with $127.6 million leaving targeted addresses between submission and execution. That was 6.1 times the gross amount measured in the preceding year.