Tether Freezes $39 Million in USDT Linked to Xinbi Guarantee Wallets

Tether has frozen $39 million in USDT held across 10 TRON wallets linked to Xinbi Guarantee, a Telegram-based escrow network that has drawn scrutiny from blockchain investigators over alleged illicit financial activity.

According to Coin Bureau, one of the targeted wallets held more than $10 million in USDT. The freeze follows Tether’s earlier action against funds associated with Huione Guarantee, another Telegram-based marketplace that has been linked by researchers to illicit crypto activity.

Tether Targets Xinbi-Linked TRON Wallets

Blockchain analytics firm MistTrack reported that 39,273,713 USDT had been frozen across 10 TRON addresses associated with Xinbi Guarantee. The largest identified wallet contained more than $10 million when the restrictions were detected.

The reported action highlights the role of centralized stablecoin issuers in financial compliance. Although USDT operates on public blockchains, Tether retains the ability to restrict specific addresses at the token-contract level, allowing funds associated with investigations, sanctions or other illicit activity to be immobilized.

Tether has previously taken similar measures involving wallets connected to Huione Guarantee. In 2024, the company froze more than $28 million in USDT held in a TRON wallet that blockchain intelligence firm Bitrace linked to Huione’s guarantee business.

Xinbi Draws Wider International Scrutiny

Xinbi Guarantee has faced increasing attention from blockchain intelligence firms and authorities. TRM Labs has estimated that the network processed approximately $24.2 billion in crypto transactions since 2022, placing it among the largest illicit marketplaces identified in the region.

The latest freeze also comes amid broader enforcement efforts targeting infrastructure associated with Telegram-based guarantee marketplaces. Elliptic said on Sept. 9 that it helped the U.S. Secret Service identify and freeze $52.8 million in cryptoassets linked to Xinbi Guarantee. The United States also sanctioned Xinbi, while Telegram subsequently removed central channels associated with the marketplace.

Coin Bureau reported that Tether has now frozen more than $4.2 billion in USDT linked to illicit activity since 2022. The figure underscores the growing importance of issuer-level controls as regulators and law-enforcement agencies increasingly track stablecoin transactions on public blockchains.

For the crypto industry, the Xinbi case reinforces a key compliance issue surrounding centralized stablecoins: blockchain transactions remain publicly traceable, while issuers can intervene when specific addresses become subject to enforcement or risk assessments. The next focus will be how the newly sanctioned Xinbi network and associated wallets respond to the latest restrictions.

Writer: Victoria Hale
Technology & Blockchain Writer

Victoria Hale writes about blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, and the intersection of emerging technologies with finance. Her articles explore how new protocols and systems are shaping the evolving digital economy.

She prioritises clarity and accuracy when explaining technical developments to a general audience.