Tether Freezes $46M of USDT Held by FTX Following Law-Enforcement Request

Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen $46 million of USDT held on the Tron blockchain by failing crypto exchange FTX following a request from law enforcement.

According to Tron block explorer Tronscan, the wallet belongs to FTX, the crypto exchange that halted withdrawals earlier this week following liquidity issues.

"We are starting to receive requests from LE to temporarily freeze assets while an investigation occurs," a Tether executive told CoinDesk, using an acronym for law enforcement.

A Tether spokesperson told CoinDesk via email that “while we cannot specifically comment, Tether routinely has open dialogue with law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of our commitment to cooperation, transparency, and accountability."

USDT fell 3% from its $1 peg earlier Thursday as contagion begins to spread following FTX's plight. It was recently trading at just a fraction below $1.

UPDATE (Nov. 10, 14:50 UTC): Adds that the frozen wallet belongs to FTX.

UPDATE (Nov. 10, 19:14 UTC): Adds comment from Tether spokesperson.