Tether temporarily froze approximately 1.45 million USDt held across four THORChain network wallets on Friday, according to Chad Barraford, the network's technical co-founder. Barraford said the stablecoin issuer blacklisted the vault addresses without explanation, then unfroze them about two hours later.
Barraford reported on X that THORChain had no communication with Tether before the action. The network was actively reaching out to Tether for clarification, hoping the decision was made in error.
THORChain's vaults facilitate cross-chain swaps, relying on pooled liquidity for various assets, including USDt. A freeze on a significant portion of its stablecoin holdings directly impacts the protocol's ability to maintain liquidity and execute trades for users.
Tether has faced multiple freezing incidents recently. Earlier this week, cross-border payments platform Conduit Technology sued Tether, alleging the company froze $2.76 million worth of USDt in a wallet linked to a Brazilian investigation initiated in 2024. In August, two Thai nationals sued Tether, claiming the company froze $42.4 million in USDt following an alleged informal request from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.
Tether did not respond immediately when asked for details on the THORChain incident.
