WuBlockchain
Tether has frozen USDT balances across all 131 TRON addresses newly designated by the US Treasury in last week's ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) sanctions update. OFAC's listing added 134 crypto wallet identifiers in total, comprising 131 TRON addresses and three Monero addresses.
Why it matters
The freeze extends Tether's longstanding collaboration with US law enforcement on illicit-finance cases. According to Chainalysis, the TRON addresses received more than $1.4 million since 2023 and sent out over $880,000, primarily in stablecoins. The mix of TRON (a public ledger) and Monero (a privacy-focused network) reflects how sanctioned groups layer traceability-resistant rails into their financial plumbing.
Market impact
Tether's ability to blacklist addresses at the smart-contract level is the operational counterweight to stablecoin-based sanctions evasion. For USDT holders on TRON, the action is a reminder that "self-custodial" does not mean "unfreezable" when the issuer can intervene on-chain. Expect continued pressure on exchanges and OTC desks to screen against the freshly listed Monero addresses, where Tether has no equivalent kill switch.
Source: [OFAC Updates ISIS-Khorasan Sanctions with Over 100 Cryptocurrency Wallets — Chainalysis](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/isis-designation-crypto-addresses-july-2026/)
Frequently asked questions
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How many TRON wallets did Tether freeze in the ISIS-K sanctions round?
Tether froze USDT balances on all 131 TRON addresses newly designated by OFAC in the ISIS-Khorasan sanctions update, which listed 134 crypto wallet identifiers in total.
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How much money moved through the sanctioned TRON addresses?
According to Chainalysis, the 131 TRON addresses received more than $1.4 million since 2023 and sent out over $880,000, primarily in stablecoins.
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Why are both TRON and Monero addresses on the OFAC list?
OFAC listed 131 TRON addresses plus three Monero addresses. The mix reflects how sanctioned groups use public ledgers for routine transfers and privacy-focused networks to layer in traceability resistance.
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Can Tether freeze USDT on Monero addresses?
No. Tether can blacklist USDT at the smart-contract level on chains it issues on, including TRON, but it has no equivalent on-chain kill switch for Monero, which uses a different protocol.
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What does this action mean for regular USDT holders on TRON?
The freeze targets specific sanctioned addresses, not TRON-based USDT holders broadly. However, the action underscores that self-custodial USDT is not unfreezable when the issuer chooses to intervene on-chain.
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