Tether vs Circle: Contrasting Strategies in Address Freezing Highlight Regulatory Approaches

Tether has frozen over 7,000 addresses totaling $3.29 billion in USDT from 2023 to 2025, primarily on the Tron network, reflecting a proactive enforcement strategy involving global law enforcement partnerships. Circle has frozen far fewer addresses—372 totaling $109 million in USDC—acting mainly on court orders without a destroy-and-reissue mechanism. These divergent approaches emphasize differing compliance philosophies and operational protocols for addressing suspicious funds in stablecoins.