Tether faces its Euroclear moment

The world's largest stablecoin is suspected of helping U.S. authorities seize millions of dollars worth of USDT from the Venezuelan government. The reputational hit could prove costly.

The big news this week is the freezing of approximately $182 million worth of USDT across five Tron wallet addresses in what has been described as one of its largest single-day actions.

The even bigger news is the suspicion that these assets may have belonged to the Venezuelan government, and that Tether — long considered a safe haven for illicit capital flows — is seizing sovereign assets at the U.S. government’s behest.

What we know for sure is that the move was carried out under compliance and enforcement procedures, and while it has not been officially confirmed that these specific wallets held Venezuelan oil proceeds, analysts and on-chain commentators across are making that connection.