T3 Unit freezes $450M in illicit crypto across 23 nations

The T3 Financial Crime Unit, a joint initiative of Tether, TRON and TRM Labs, reported it froze over $450 million in illicit digital assets while working with regulators and law enforcement across 23 jurisdictions. The unit said intercepted proceeds rose nearly 44% in 2025 compared with the prior year.

Agencies in the United States, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Bulgaria led many of the asset-freezing actions, the unit reported. T3 FCU said it supported investigations involving controlled-substance trafficking, exchange hacks, activity linked to the DPRK, terrorist financing, violent crime, kidnappings, extortion and account takeovers.

T3 FCU described upgrades to its monitoring and intervention tools that allow near-real-time analysis of millions of transactions across five continents. The group said it has frozen suspicious assets within 24 hours at law enforcement request during emergency probes. The unit began as a rapid communication and blocklisting system focused on illicit USDT activity on the TRON blockchain and has expanded its remit and geographic reach.

The unit took part in Brazil’s Operation Lusocoin, in which authorities froze more than R$3 billion in crypto assets tied to criminal organizations, including roughly 4.3 million USDT. T3 FCU now coordinates with government partners and regulatory agencies in 23 jurisdictions, including the United States, Spain, Germany, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, stated, “Compliance is not an option; it is a part of our commitment to protect our users and stop any illicit behaviors.” TRON founder Justin Sun noted that “USDT on TRON plays a central role in global transaction flows, supported by the network’s scale and efficiency.” Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs, emphasized that stopping criminal funds requires collaboration and pairing real-time intelligence with coordinated public-private action.

The Financial Action Task Force identified T3 FCU as an “invaluable resource for law enforcement agencies worldwide” and referenced the unit alongside TRM’s Beacon Network as a public-private model for addressing illicit activity in digital assets. FATF is the Paris-based body that sets global anti-money-laundering standards.

TRON reported more than 380 million user accounts and over 13 billion processed transactions. The network hosts more than $88 billion in circulating USDT, figures T3 FCU cited in explaining the scope of its monitoring work. The unit also cited a record $158 billion in global illicit crypto flows to underscore demand for faster identification and disruption of criminal funds.

T3 FCU said it will continue to operate across multiple jurisdictions and blockchain networks to support law enforcement freezes and follow-up investigations while supporting lawful use of digital assets.