Exchange Ranking
Top Exchanges
24h Volume Ranking
Popularity Ranking
Exchange BTC Balance
Proof of Reserves
Decentralized Exchanges
Funding Rate
Funding Heatmap
Liquidation Data
Max Pain
Long/Short Ratio
Whale L/S Ratio
Binance/Okex/Huobi L/S
Bitfinex Margin L/S
ETF Tracker
Solana ETF
XRP ETF
Hong Kong ETF
Bitcoin Treasuries
Crypto Reversal
Ethereum Reserves
HyperLiquid Wallet Analysis
Hyperliquid Whale Watch
Large Transactions
On-chain Movement
Bitcoin ROI
Stablecoin Market Cap
Options Analysis
News
Articles
Economic Calendar
Features
Wallet
Contract Calculator
Security
Collections
Watchlist
FollowingTwo Thai businessmen sue Tether for freezing USDT of approximately US$42.4 million.
Two Thai businessmen are suing Tether in federal court, involving approximately US$42.4 million in frozen USDT. The indictment alleges that the stablecoin issuer froze the tokens in October last year based on a verbal request from a U.S. agent, and the seizure order obtained nearly four months later could not make up for the illegal freezing.
The blacklist involves ten Ethereum addresses
The lawsuit was filed on August 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs were Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas, and the defendants were four Tether entities.
CourtListener docket for Rukthammachalern v. Tether Holdings in the Southern District of New York, showing an August 31, 2026, filing date. Captured September 3, 2026
The complaint alleges that the tokens were stored at ten Ethereum addresses, nine of which belonged to Rukthammachhalern and one to Kasamvilas.
The indictment states that Tether blacklisted the addresses on October 30, 2025. A Homeland Security Investigation agent informally requested a blacklist operation without authorization, court order, or notification to the account holder.
A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina did not sign a seizure order until February 19, 2026. The indictment alleges that the seizure order established a plan to require Tether to destroy the frozen USDT, mint an equivalent amount of new tokens, and transfer them into government-controlled wallets.
"Tether froze clients 'funds based solely on an informal government request without a search warrant, court order, any legal process against Tether, or notice to our clients," said Mark Beckett, a lawyer for both clients.
He added,"It took nearly four months before the warrant was issued."
He said Tether "has no contractual relationship with our parties, is not the custodian of our parties USDT, and has no legal right or basis to blacklist our parties 'accounts."
The complaint describes Tether as a private company acting independently and not related to any possible government claims. The plaintiff sought a court ruling that the freezing was illegal, ordered that the tokens not be destroyed until the final confiscation ruling, and sought damages.
The indictment also alleges that the plaintiff sought recovery for the proceeds Tether earned during the funds freeze.
While the account was locked, the reserve continued to earn Treasury yields
The indictment alleges that when Tether minted stablecoins, it would collect US dollars and purchase interest-bearing instruments, mainly U.S. Treasury securities deposited in New York. These held assets are reserves.
The plaintiff argued that freezing customers 'USDT would cost Tether no cost, while it could continue to accumulate benefits from the corresponding reserves. This gave the company financial incentive to freeze and destroy the tokens.
The plaintiff stated that Tether promoted the USDT as stable, fully mortgaged and freely transferable, but did not mention that it could block or destroy any holder's tokens at will on any blockchain.
"The new lawsuit against Tether is a groundless attempt to interfere with Tether's important work of working with global law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice, to prevent the illegal use of USDT," the company said in a statement. USDT smart contracts have blacklist functions, which means Tether can mark addresses on blockchains such as Ethereum.
Tether works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies in 65 countries. The company said the cooperation has helped freeze more than $4.4 billion in assets related to suspected illegal activity.
