August 16, 2025 Authorities and industry partners have frozen more than $300 million in cryptocurrency tied to cybercrime and fraud schemes over the past year.
The bulk of the seizures came from the T3 Financial Crime Unit, a partnership launched in September 2024 by TRM Labs, TRON, Tether and Binance. The group says it has frozen over $250 million in assets linked to pump-and-dump schemes, romance fraud, investment scams and money laundering. That includes more than $6 million recovered from international “pig-butchering” syndicates that lure victims through online relationships.
Canadian enforcement agencies have also played a role. Project Atlas, led by the Ontario Provincial Police, and Operation Avalanche, coordinated by the B.C. Securities Commission with analytics firm Chainalysis, froze $74.3 million in suspected criminal proceeds across 14 countries. More than $50 million of that was in tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Tether executives said the results show what is possible when law enforcement and the private sector collaborate. But security experts warn criminals are still exploiting gaps in regulation and oversight, and that international co-operation remains critical to keep pace with fraud that crosses borders in seconds.
