The T3 Financial Crimes Unit, a crypto task force, said it froze $300 million in tainted funds in its first year of operation, earning praise from international authorities and proving that the stablecoin industry is capable of policing itself.
Formed in late 2024 by stablecoin issuer Tether, blockchain Tron, and TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence platform, to clean up stablecoin activity on Tron, the unit has evolved into a global enforcement model for blockchain security and signals a shift in the way the crypto industry handles compliance and liability.
The unit monitors transactions and coordinates high-profile seizures, including proceeds from “pig butchery” scams and organized crime networks in Europe. Its investigations now span five continents, with the recent recognition of Brazil’s Federal Police for its role in Operation Lusocoin, a major money laundering bust, underscoring how public-private collaboration is reshaping cryptocurrency financial crime prevention.
“Tether is deeply committed to maintaining the integrity of the financial ecosystem by collaborating with more than 280 law enforcement agencies around the world,” Paolo Ardoino, CEO of the USDT issuer, said in a statement.
The $300 million milestone follows a series of significant law enforcement achievements since the unit’s launch in September 2024.
By January 2025, T3 had frozen $100 million in illicit USDT, including $3 million linked to North Korean networks, and in August it had surpassed the $250 million mark by launching its T3+ Global Collaborator Program.
That initiative, which brings together exchanges and industry players in real-time coordination with authorities, began with Binance and has already led to the freezing of $6 million linked to a pig slaughter scam.
