What Is USDT Freezing and How to Avoid It

In 2025, USDT remains the largest stablecoin, accounting for more than half of all transfers in “stables.” It is widely used in P2P deals, on exchanges, and in everyday settlements. But the more popular the instrument, the higher the risks. More and more users encounter situations where the wallet balance is visible, but tokens cannot be transferred.

In this article, you will learn:

• how exactly USDT freezing works at the smart contract level;
• why Tether freezes addresses and in which networks this occurs most often;
• how to check a wallet via Tronscan and Etherscan, and what to do if your USDT is frozen.

This situation is not an app error or a network failure. Tether, as the issuer, has the right and technical capability to freeze a USDT wallet. Under certain circumstances, an address is placed on a “blacklist,” and the tokens become inaccessible. It is important to understand why this happens and what to do to avoid ending up among the blocked.

A USDT freeze means the funds in a specific wallet are locked. The balance still shows, but the wallet becomes non-functional: the coins remain in place, but cannot be used.

Many people ask: “How can a token be frozen if the blockchain is decentralized?” Here it is important to distinguish between the network and the token. Ethereum and TRON are decentralized, but USDT is a smart contract that is centrally managed. Tether has functions that allow restricting transfers from certain addresses. In other words, the blockchain keeps working, but the issuer’s rules apply to USDT.

There are two scenarios:

• address freeze — a complete ban on any USDT operations for a given wallet;
• transaction freeze — a one-off measure stopping a suspicious transfer.

These mechanisms are built into the system in advance, and the user cannot influence them. That is why the risk of freezing cannot be ignored.

Tether enforces freezes not at its own discretion, but in response to external requests and compliance checks. Usually, this is connected with violations of the law or suspicions of illicit activity.

The main reasons are:

• sanctions and regulator requirements: addresses are frozen if linked to sanctioned persons or countries;
• money laundering and fraud: suspicious transactions are blocked for investigation;
• thefts and hacks: Tether freezes stolen assets upon requests from victims and courts;
• monitoring algorithm errors: rare, but known cases of false positives.

Wallets with large sums are most often affected, but an ordinary user may also be hit. Just one transfer to an address linked to “dirty” funds can land your wallet on the suspicious list. That’s why it is important to understand not only the causes but also the consequences of such freezes.

For more details on how such monitoring systems work, see Arkham Intelligence’s review, which shows how services build transaction graphs and identify “tainted” wallets.

USDT circulates on several networks, and in each there is a risk of freezing. But statistics show differences in scale.

Ethereum (ERC-20).

• According to BlockSec research, since January 1, 2016, a total of 5,188 addresses have been blacklisted in Ethereum and TRON combined, freezing over $2.9 billion USDT.
• Between June 13–30, 2025, 151 addresses were added, 90.07% of them on TRON, but some freezes occurred on Ethereum as well. During this period, ~$86.34 million was frozen.
• Nevertheless, Ethereum often appears in public reports as the network with the largest number of affected addresses, and many sanction-related freezes are specifically on ERC-20.

TRON (TRC-20).

• In the short span of June 2025, more than 90% of freezes were on TRON networks.
• In June 2025, Tether froze $12.3 million USDT in TRON, reflecting intensified monitoring of suspicious flows.
• Long-term analysis showed that frozen funds were highly concentrated: of the $86.34 million in June, the top 10 addresses held $53.45 million, i.e. ≈ 61.9% of the total.

BNB Chain, Solana, and others.

• Freezes occur less often here, not because Tether lacks authority, but because USDT transaction volumes on these chains are lower.
• In any case, “freeze/blacklist” mechanisms are built in and apply across all networks where the USDT contract operates.

Special Cases and Risks

• Delays in freeze execution give criminals an opportunity: according to AMLBot, more than $78 million USDT (Ethereum + TRON) was withdrawn due to the time gap between a freeze request and its enforcement.
• In some cases, one address can remain frozen for a very long time — for example, one address stayed blacklisted for over two years before being removed.
• Tether has also published freeze cases related to terrorism and geopolitics.

These numbers clearly show: there is no “safe blockchain” for USDT — issuer control works equally across all networks.

Any user can check a wallet’s status in just a few minutes.

In TRON (TRC-20) via Tronscan:

1. Go to tronscan.org and paste the address into the search bar.
2. On the address page, open Tokens → USDT (TRC-20).
3. Go to the Contract tab, select the method isBlackListed(address), and enter the address.
4. If the wallet is frozen, you will see “Frozen” or “Blacklisted.”

In Ethereum (ERC-20) via Etherscan:

1. Go to etherscan.io and find the USDT token.
2. Open the Contract → Read Contract tab.
3. Use the method getBlackListStatus(address) and check the wallet status.
4. In case of a freeze, the system will show “true” or a “blacklisted” mark.

These steps are a simple and quick way to check a USDT address in Tronscan and Etherscan. This should become a mandatory habit before large transactions to avoid losing funds unexpectedly.

If you discover your USDT has been frozen, there are almost no ways to resolve the problem.

• If the address is under sanctions, unfreezing is virtually impossible.
• If it’s a disputed transaction or theft, Tether may review an appeal, but the process takes months.
• You can file an official request with Tether support, providing documents proving the origin of funds. In practice, USDT usually remains frozen.

The main conclusion: don’t expect funds to be returned. But you can learn a lesson. If part of the assets had been stored in other stablecoins (USDC, DAI, TUSD) and across different wallets, freezing one address would not be catastrophic. Diversification and fund separation are the only real insurance in such a situation

It is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of USDT freezes. But you can minimize it by following simple rules:

• Use verified exchanges and wallets with stronger transaction monitoring.
• Avoid “grey” P2P platforms where risky addresses are common.
• Check counterparties’ addresses via Tronscan and Etherscan before every deal.
• Don’t mix “clean” transfers and questionable transactions in the same wallet.
• Store funds across several wallets and in different stablecoins.

These steps won’t give a 100% guarantee but will help avoid most problems. Remember: USDT transaction safety depends not only on the blockchain but also on your actions. The more carefully you choose platforms and partners, the less likely you are to face a freeze.

USDT freezes are not rare errors but a built-in control tool Tether uses regularly. Both large sums and small P2P deals are affected.

To protect yourself, keep in mind three simple rules:

• Check wallets via Tronscan and Etherscan.
• Work only with trusted services.
• Store funds across multiple addresses and stablecoins.

These habits won’t remove the risk completely, but they will make it manageable. And most importantly: in the world of USDT, it’s not the wallet name that matters, but your attentiveness to it before every transfer.