Tether and Circle freeze about $1.8 bln after $2.77 bln leaves Binance wallets
The combined freeze is nearly double the $971 mln Tether had frozen on its own, after on-chain data showed $2.77 bln leaving Binance wallets across five blockchains.
Tether and Circle, the issuers of the USDT and USDC stablecoins, have between them frozen about $1.8 bln.
That is almost twice the $971 mln Tether had frozen when it acted alone after on-chain data showed $2.77 bln leaving Binance wallets across five blockchains. The freeze figure has grown rather than settled, which suggests the full extent of the loss was not clear when the first funds were locked.
Frozen tokens can in principle be recovered. Funds that have moved on, or that sit in other assets, are harder to chase.
Circle has its own stake in the outcome. Under a five-year deal that either side can end early, it pays Binance a monthly fee tied to USDC balances, and it sold Binance $100m in stock as part of the expanded partnership announced on September 22. Circle is therefore helping to contain a loss at a partner it pays and in which it has a financial interest, and that makes its freezing decision a test of how far issuers will act against their own commercial relationships.
Until Binance says more on customers and withdrawals, centralized crypto platforms will carry the doubt.
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