Tether freezes over $45 million in USDT related to Xinbi-

TEDA has frozen more than US$45 million in USDT, and funds are alleged to be related to the "new coin" market.

Blockchain analysts said that stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen USDT worth more than US$45 million. The funds are believed to be linked to an online market called Xinbi (new coin). The freeze means that the affected tokens can no longer be transferred or spent, and are effectively locked in place.

Core Points

• TEDA frozen USDT, resulting in relevant tokens being locked and unable to transfer.
• The value of the frozen funds is reported to exceed US$45 million.
• These funds are described as being associated with the "Xinbi" market.

Freeze mechanism resolution

The freeze operation does not delete the token, but marks the wallet address where the token is held so that it cannot send funds anywhere. The effect is similar to a bank freezing an account. For more related reports on such incidents, please see "USDT obtains payment channels to 170 million Brazilian users" and "Orionx suspends withdrawal and ceases operations."

Data update: Elliptic reports a frozen amount of US$52.8 million

Blockchain analytics company Elliptic reported that approximately $52.8 million in USDT was held in frozen wallets. That figure is higher than the approximately $45 million quoted when the news first broke. As of now, TEDA has not issued an official statement confirming the specific amount.

Notes on US$52.8 million:

Elliptic pointed out that at the time of the freeze, the wallet associated with "Xinbi" held US$52.8 million, which updates the US$45 million threshold previously mentioned in the headline. The report was released on September 9, 2026 and has not been independently verified.

Enforcement details and law enforcement cooperation

Elliptic stated that starting from 08:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on September 8, 2026, a total of 52 wallets belonging to "Xinbi" and its merchants have been frozen. The company said it cooperated with the U.S. Secret Service and its wallet intelligence directly contributed to the operation. This information has also not been independently verified.

Freezing tokens is a method previously used by TEDA. Recently, TEDA cooperated with investigators to freeze US$72 million in USDT related to tracking financial flows; in addition, U.S. authorities also separately froze US$131 million in cryptocurrency related to sanctioned entities.

On the correlated nature of the "Xinbi" market

It was reported that the frozen funds were linked to "Xinbi", but it was not confirmed that they were owned or controlled by any specific individual. This distinction is crucial because "reported association" is not the same as "established control."

Elliptic pointed out that Xinbi Guarantee and its merchants have processed at least US$24 billion in total transaction volume since its launch in 2022. It should be noted that this is the total transaction volume, not a measure of victim losses. The company also reported that another payment service called "Xinbi Pay"(also known as XPay) processed an additional $6 billion in transactions. Elliptic views the service as a separate entity from the market itself.

Unsolved mysteries after the freeze

Elliptic said that within hours after the freeze occurred,"Xinbi" converted its remaining US$2.8 million USDT into another stablecoin USDD through a decentralized exchange. This is Elliptic's estimate and has not been independently verified.

Although USDD claims to be decentralized, Elliptic points out that it still faces the risk of freezing. "However, its claim of decentralization is controversial, and because the USDD is partially collateralized by the freezable USDT, it remains exposed to freezing risks," wrote Dr. Tom Robinson of Elliptic.

There are still several details that are beyond what existing reports can establish. The operation was described as a "lock-up" rather than a "confiscation" of funds, and there was no evidence of a court ruling or returning funds to victims. The broader market impact is also unconfirmed. Although the USDT continues to approach its $1 anchor price at approximately $0.9998, this snapshot cannot be directly attributed to this particular event.

Implications for ordinary investors

For ordinary cryptocurrency holders, the practical lesson is simple: USDT is centrally managed, which means that the company behind it can freeze specific wallet addresses when requested by investigators. This function itself has become the focus of legal controversy.

Disclaimer : This article is for reference only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. There are significant risks in the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets. Be sure to conduct independent research before making a decision.