THORChain exec accuses Tether of temporarily freezing USDT vaults

THORChain technical co-founder Chad Barraford accused stablecoin issuer Tether of blacklisting the network’s USDt (USDT) vaults without explanation, then unfreezing them hours later. 

In a Friday X post, Barraford said that Tether had blacklisted THORChain vault addresses, freezing about a combined 1.45 million USDT in the network’s funds across four wallets. He reported about two hours later than trading would resume after the company unfroze all the addresses.

“We don’t know why this choice was made and have had no comms with USDT before this action and are actively reaching out to have a conversation,” said Barraford before the addresses were unfrozen. “We hope that this was made in error / misunderstanding.”

Cointelegraph reached out to Tether and THORChain for details on the incident, but did not receive an immediate response. 

Earlier this week, cross-border payments platform Conduit Technology filed a lawsuit against Tether, alleging that the stablecoin company froze $2.76 million worth of USDt in a wallet tied to an investigation launched by Brazilian authorities in 2024. Two Thai nationals also sued the stablecoin company in August for allegedly freezing $42.4 million in USDt after an alleged ”informal request” from US Homeland Security Investigations.

Related: Cantor Fitzgerald faces Senate Democrat’s questions over Tether ties