Tether froze more than $1.5 billion in USD₮ from the Binance hack within 30 minutes of the October 29, 2026 attack, the stablecoin issuer said on November 2. Tether said the intervention kept those funds beyond the reach of North Korea, which the FBI identified as responsible for the theft.
Key takeaways
Tether says its Binance response blocked North Korean access to over $1.5 billion.
Binance put the breach’s impact at about $6.3 billion in client assets.
Tether’s worldwide enforcement network spans more than 360 agencies.
The issuer reports over 7 billion USD₮ frozen overall, including the Binance funds.
How Tether froze funds from the Binance hack
Tether said it immobilized the stolen USD₮ within 30 minutes , preventing the attackers from moving those funds beyond its reach. The issuer’s November 2 account followed Binance’s disclosure that the breach affected about $6.3 billion in client assets, with around $3 billion frozen on-chain.
Binance said it had begun recovering assets and pledged to cover losses through its Secure Asset Fund for Users. It temporarily halted withdrawals while revising its withdrawal security systems; deposits continued operating normally.
“Within minutes of the hack, our team had frozen more than $1.5 billion,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said. “The FBI has confirmed North Korea was behind the attack.”
Other issuers also intervened. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said on October 29 that Circle had frozen more than 800 million in USD Coin associated with the incident.
U.S. agency cooperation and sanctions policy
Tether’s wallet-freezing policy follows the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals List , and the issuer says it assists investigations with more than 360 law enforcement agencies across 73 countries. Those investigations include illicit activity and terrorist financing.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service have joined Tether’s platform. The issuer reported that, as of October 31, 2026, it had worked alongside the U.S. Department of Justice, Secret Service and FBI to freeze approximately 1.6 billion USD₮ spread across more than 3,590 wallets.
Tether describes its work with U.S. and international authorities and industry partners as focused on tracing illicit funds, helping pursue those responsible and preventing further attacks.
Iran, Russia and the broader recovery record
Tether said its Iran-linked freezes reached nearly $550 million USD₮ in 2026 . It also reported freezing around $23 million tied to the Garantex exchange in an action involving sanctioned Russian activity and the U.S. Secret Service.
Tether froze over $344 million USD₮ held in two addresses in April, acting on information provided by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and U.S. law enforcement agencies. OFAC identified the addresses as Central Bank of Iran identifiers the next day. A further $130 million was frozen across four wallets in July as Treasury expanded its designations.
Tether also cited support for theft victims: after hackers linked to North Korea stole around $285 million from the Drift exchange in April 2026, it committed $127.5 million to help affected users.
Including its freeze of the Binance hack funds, Tether puts its total frozen balance in secondary-market addresses at more than 7 billion USD₮ . Most was associated with fraud and theft, particularly exchange and DeFi hacks. The issuer said approximately 1.2 billion USD₮ obtained through fraud and theft had been returned through reissuance to rightful owners and law enforcement.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
