Tether freezes 30x more value than Circle as stablecoin blacklists surge
AMLBOT data shows Tether froze about $3.3b vs Circle’s $109m between 2023–2025, exposing stark differences in how the two largest stablecoin issuers police funds.
- Tether blacklisted 7,268 addresses and froze roughly $3.3b, mostly on Tron, using a freeze–burn–reissue model coordinated with U.S. law enforcement.
- Circle froze $109m across 372 addresses, almost entirely on Ethereum, acting mainly under court or regulatory orders without burning or reissuing tokens.
- The gap in frozen value highlights contrasting compliance philosophies that shape how USDT and USDC behave under sanctions, investigations and fraud probes.
Tether and Circle demonstrated significantly different approaches to freezing stablecoin addresses between 2023 and 2025, with Tether freezing approximately 30 times more value than its competitor, according to data released by AMLBOT.
Tether froze approximately $3.3 billion in crypto assets during the period, while Circle froze about $109 million, the data showed. The figures highlight contrasting compliance and enforcement strategies between the two largest stablecoin issuers.
Tether blacklisted 7,268 addresses between 2023 and 2025, according to the report. More than 2,800 of those actions were carried out in coordination with U.S. law enforcement, targeting funds linked to scams and other criminal activity, AMLBOT reported.
A significant portion of frozen Tether tokens was located on the Tron network, accounting for over 53% of all frozen tokens, according to the data. Tether employs a “freeze, burn and reissue” mechanism that allows recovered funds to be invalidated and reissued under controlled conditions, the report stated.
The data showed $1.54 billion in Tether on the Ethereum network currently held in banned wallets, reflecting the scale of enforcement tied to Ethereum-based tokens.
Circle froze 372 addresses, totaling $109 million in its stablecoin, according to the dataset. Circle only freezes funds under explicit court orders or regulatory directives and does not burn or reissue tokens after freezing, the data indicated. The Ethereum data showed $109.25 million held in banned wallets, closely matching Circle’s reported enforcement totals.
The data illustrates operational differences between the two stablecoin issuers. Tether’s model involves rapid intervention and asset recovery at scale, while Circle’s approach emphasizes legal formality and restraint, according to the report.
Issuer policies, jurisdictional cooperation and enforcement mechanisms affect how stablecoin assets behave in cases involving compliance, investigations or sanctions, the data suggests.
