Bloomberg Reports: Tether Assists Turkey in Freezing $1 Billion in Assets

According to Bloomberg, the world’s largest stablecoin USDT issuer Tether has recently, at the request of the Turkish government, assisted in freezing a large amount of crypto assets involved in illegal gambling and money laundering cases. The country has currently blocked over $1 billion in suspicious funds.
(Background: Can USDT blacklists really prevent money laundering and terrorist financing? On-chain data analysis: Nearly 90% of stablecoins are transferred before being frozen)
(Additional background: Tether is launching a new compliant stablecoin USAT in the US, but states: it is not legal tender and is not insured or guaranteed by government agencies)

Table of Contents

• Tether Acts, Turkey Seizes Over $500 Million in Crypto Assets
• Turkey Launches Series of Crackdowns, Frozen Amounts Exceed $1 Billion
• Changing Role of Stablecoin Issuers: From Doubt to Enforcement Tool
• Returning to the US Market, Major Shift in Regulatory Relations
• USDT Still the Preferred Tool for Criminals, Regulatory Pressure Unabated

According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, by the end of 2025, Tether and Circle will have nearly 5,700 wallets blacklisted, with total frozen funds approaching $2.5 billion — just two years ago, this number was nearly zero.

Tether Acts, Turkey Seizes Over $500 Million in Crypto Assets

Bloomberg recently reported that on January 30, Turkish law enforcement announced the seizure of over $500 million in crypto assets linked to a suspect named Veysel Sahin. Sahin is accused of operating underground gambling websites and using cryptocurrencies for money laundering. The Istanbul chief prosecutor stated that a cryptocurrency company whose identity was not disclosed was commissioned by the government to execute this asset freeze.

Further investigation by Bloomberg revealed that the company behind the scenes assisting was Tether Holdings SA — whose issued USDT has ballooned to a market cap of $185 billion. The report states that in recent years, Tether has significantly strengthened its cooperation with governments worldwide in combating crypto crimes, involving cases across money laundering, drug trafficking, and sanctions evasion.

Bloomberg quoted Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino: “Law enforcement contacted us, provided relevant information, and after verification, we took action according to the laws of the respective country. We follow this process when cooperating with agencies like the US Department of Justice and FBI.”

Tether declined to comment further on the case. Bloomberg also attempted to contact Sahin but was unsuccessful, and a Turkish government official also refused to confirm the name of the company mentioned in the prosecutor’s statement.

Turkey Launches Series of Crackdowns, Frozen Amounts Exceed $1 Billion

Bloomberg summarized that the €460 million (about $544 million) assets seized are just part of a recent large-scale crackdown in Turkey. As of the time of reporting, the total amount of crypto assets blocked by Turkish authorities in related cases has exceeded $1 billion.

Bloomberg cited NTV, a Turkish TV station, saying that shortly after the news of Sahin’s assets being frozen, another suspect involved in money laundering and underground gambling was also under investigation, with about $500 million in crypto assets seized. It is not yet confirmed whether Tether assisted in freezing this latter case as well.

Bloomberg also quoted an anonymous Turkish official who said that investigators tracked the flow of funds and analyzed the relationships between crypto wallets to identify these suspected illegal proceeds. The official also indicated that similar crackdowns on underground gambling and illegal payment systems will continue.

Changing Role of Stablecoin Issuers: From Doubt to Enforcement Tool

Bloomberg’s analysis states that for Tether, Turkey is just the latest piece in its expanding global enforcement cooperation network. The stablecoin giant is shifting from its past role of regulatory skepticism to becoming a tool that governments rely on to combat crypto crime.

The report cites data from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic released in January: by the end of 2025, nearly 5,700 wallets linked to Tether and its main competitor Circle Internet Group Inc. will be blacklisted, involving approximately $2.5 billion. About three-quarters of the frozen wallets hold USDT.

Elliptic Asia-Pacific Threat Intelligence Head Arda Akartuna told Bloomberg: “As legitimate use of cryptocurrencies accelerates and global payment integration progresses, illegal activities are also increasing, prompting stablecoin issuers to intervene more actively.”

Bloomberg also revealed that Tether frequently highlights its enforcement cooperation achievements when briefing potential investors — the company is currently raising funds at an estimated valuation of $500 billion. According to Tether’s website, the company has handled over 1,800 cases across more than 62 countries, freezing or seizing USDT worth $3.4 billion related to illegal activities.

Tether’s partner, Anchorage Digital Bank co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley, described to Bloomberg: “They (Tether) are very proactive in cooperation, and among stablecoin issuers, they have the ‘best reputation’ among law enforcement agencies.”

Returning to the US Market, Major Shift in Regulatory Relations

It is noteworthy that Anchorage is the issuer partner of Tether’s compliant USD stablecoin USAT. This token was officially launched in late January and is seen as a milestone for Tether’s return to the US market.

Bloomberg pointed out that this is a stark contrast to a few years ago. After clashing with US regulators in 2018, Tether almost completely exited the local market; in 2021, it settled with authorities over allegations of overstating reserves for $41 million.

However, with Trump’s second presidency, the US government’s attitude toward the crypto industry has shifted markedly. Reports indicate that last year, Ardoino and other industry leaders were invited to attend the signing ceremony of the stablecoin regulation bill signed by Trump.

USDT Still the Preferred Tool for Criminals, Regulatory Pressure Unabated

However, Bloomberg also notes that despite Tether’s active compliance efforts, the problem of USDT being misused for illegal purposes persists.

For example, on January 9, a US attorney’s office in Eastern Virginia announced charges against a Venezuelan suspect accused of laundering up to $1 billion through USDT. Additionally, a recent study by Elliptic showed that the Central Bank of Iran had purchased over $500 million worth of USDT to ease its currency crisis and bypass US sanctions.

Regarding the key figure behind the Turkey operation, Sahin, Bloomberg summarized local media reports describing his background: he is accused of leading a criminal network that launders money for illegal online gambling sites. He was sentenced to 10 years in 2017, released in 2023, but less than a month later, sentenced again to 21 years. Sahin’s whereabouts are currently unknown, but Turkish Anadolu Agency reported on January 30 that “relevant authorities are actively working to extradite him back to Turkey.”