Tether froze more than $180 million worth of USDT in a single day by targeting five wallets on the Tron blockchain.
Blockchain tracker Whale Alert reported the freezes occurred within 24 hours, removing about $182 million from circulation.
The wallets held between $12 million and $50 million each, though Tether did not disclose the specific reasons for the action.
The move highlighted the centralised control stablecoin issuers retain, including the ability to block funds instantly.
Tether routinely freezes assets in cooperation with US law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Data shows criminal activity has increasingly shifted from bitcoin to stablecoins in recent years.
Chainalysis said stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume by the end of 2025.
AMLBot reported Tether froze roughly $3.3 billion in assets between 2023 and 2025 across Ethereum and Tron networks.
Despite frequent enforcement actions, USDT continues to dominate the stablecoin market by capitalisation.
Analysts said the incident underscores the growing role of stablecoins in both legitimate trading and illicit finance.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $91,995.68.