Tether defends compliance after Senate report on Iran-linked wallets

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has responded to a U.S. Senate report regarding the use of USDT in sanctioned Iranian wallets. The report, presented by Senator Richard Blumenthal, analyzed 846 wallets and found that 84 percent used USDT almost exclusively.

In response, Ardoino stated that Tether’s proactive compliance measures have reduced Iran-linked stablecoin transaction volumes by 94 percent since 2023. He noted that Tether typically freezes flagged addresses an average of four weeks before official sanctions are issued by authorities such as the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Tether disclosed that it blocked approximately $550 million in USDT linked to Iran throughout 2026, with significant freezes occurring in April and July. Data from TRM Labs supports this trend, showing USDT’s share of on-chain volume in Iran-attributed wallets dropped from 67 percent in 2025 to 14 percent by August 2026.