2 January, 2025 – The T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), a collaboration between Tether, TRON and TRM Labs, has frozen more than $100 million in criminal assets globally, passing a significant milestone in its fight against cryptocurrency-related financial crime.

Launched in August 2024, T3 FCU has rapidly emerged as a model for public-private partnership in blockchain security, working directly with law enforcement agencies worldwide to identify and disrupt criminal networks. The unit has worked closely with global law enforcement agencies to successfully intervene in cases involving money laundering, investment fraud, blackmail operations, terrorism financing, and other serious financial crimes.

“Criminals now have 100 million reasons to think twice before using TRON,” said Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain. “T3 FCU’s rapid success in freezing criminal assets sends an unmistakable message: if you’re using USDT on TRON for crime, you will be caught.”

The unit has already analyzed millions of transactions across five continents, monitoring over USDT 3 billion in total volume. This comprehensive monitoring capability enables T3 FCU to work across borders to identify and disrupt criminal operations in real-time, making it an invaluable resource for law enforcement agencies worldwide.

“Tether is deeply committed to maintaining the integrity of the financial ecosystem by proactively collaborating with global law enforcement agencies,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “By working closely with authorities across jurisdictions, Tether has been instrumental in freezing criminal assets and ensuring that bad actors do not exploit stablecoins like USDT. Alongside our T3 collaborators, we’ve demonstrated the transformative power of collaboration in setting new standards for transparency, security, and accountability in the digital asset space.”

“T3 FCU’s ability to work closely with law enforcement worldwide to effectively disrupt cybercriminals from using USDT on TRON is a proof of concept for public-private partnerships,” said Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs. “Surpassing USDT 100 million in frozen assets is just the beginning. In 2025 and beyond, as more and more lawful users enter the growing crypto ecosystem, it is more important than ever to keep it safe. T3 is dedicated to that mission.”