US DOJ restrains $52M in crypto with Tether’s help
The U.S. Department of Justice has restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency while targeting wallets and online channels linked to the Xinbi Guarantee scam network.
- $52 million in cryptocurrency was restrained during one day of coordinated enforcement.
- Two Xinbi wallets had received about $12 million in payments, according to Tether.
- U.S. authorities sought restraints against 47 more wallets linked to suspected money laundering.
- Tether says it has helped 340 agencies freeze over $5 billion across 67 countries.
Tether said in a Sep. 11 statement that the DOJ credited the stablecoin issuer's "proactive assistance" in an operation against Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace linked to international scam groups.
The coordinated action restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency in one day. U.S. authorities also seized two wallets that Xinbi allegedly used to receive about $12 million in payments and sought restraint orders covering 47 additional wallets tied to suspected money laundering.
Xinbi operated as a service hub rather than a single scam site. According to U.S. authorities and blockchain researchers, its vendors connected fraud groups with money launderers, operators of fake investment platforms, and recruiters involved in human trafficking.
DOJ targets Xinbi's financial infrastructure
Instead of focusing only on individual fraud schemes, the enforcement action went after the payment tools that supported Xinbi's marketplace. Vendors allegedly used the platform to advertise services, receive payments, and move proceeds from online scams through cryptocurrency wallets.
The two wallets targeted for seizure had collected about $12 million in payments, Tether said. Restraint requests involving another 47 wallets expanded the action to addresses that U.S. authorities associated with money laundering activity.
A post from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia described Xinbi as a Chinese-run network and confirmed that authorities restrained $52 million during the operation. The office said the action raised the Scam Center Strike Force's running enforcement total to $938 million.
Authorities did not say in the available announcements whether every restrained wallet contained USDT or identify the other digital assets involved. The disclosed figures also refer to different legal steps: two wallets were seized, while the government sought restraints against 47 others.
Xinbi's payment network had drawn scrutiny well before the latest DOJ action. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic estimated in May 2025 that the marketplace had processed at least $8.4 billion in transactions since 2022, according to a report on Xinbi published by Wired.
Elliptic linked the market to money laundering, stolen data, fake investment operations and services used by human trafficking networks. Wired also reported that the business behind Xinbi had been incorporated in Colorado in 2022, giving the case a direct U.S. connection beyond the use of dollar-linked cryptocurrency.
By April 2026, Elliptic estimated that Xinbi's cumulative transaction volume had reached $21 billion. The firm recorded another $505 million in transactions during the 19 days after the United Kingdom sanctioned the marketplace in March 2026, Wired reported.
Tether assists with wallet restraints
Tether's involvement gave authorities access to controls that do not exist in the same form for assets such as Bitcoin. As the issuer of USDT, the company can block specific tokens held at identified addresses after receiving valid requests from law enforcement.
CEO Paolo Ardoino said criminal groups should not assume that using cryptocurrency places their funds outside the reach of investigators. According to Ardoino, stablecoin infrastructure allows authorities to trace transactions and stop illicit funds when the relevant wallets have been identified.
Tether said it has worked with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 countries. The company attributed more than $5 billion in frozen assets connected to suspected illicit activity to that cooperation.
The Xinbi action is not the first U.S. case in which Tether has helped investigators trace or control stablecoins. In June 2025, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint covering about $225.3 million in cryptocurrency connected to investment fraud affecting more than 400 suspected victims.
According to the DOJ complaint, the FBI and U.S. Secret Service traced seven groups of Tether tokens through a laundering network after Tether and crypto exchange OKX flagged suspicious accounts in 2023. The government alleged that the funds came from confidence-based investment scams, often called "pig butchering" schemes.
Reported losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud reached $5.8 billion in 2024, according to an FBI figure cited in the earlier DOJ case. Such schemes commonly begin when fraudsters build trust through social media, messaging services, or dating platforms before directing victims to fake investment websites.
Xinbi rebuilt after an earlier Telegram purge
Telegram blocked channels connected to Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee in May 2025 after researchers documented their alleged role in crypto scams and money laundering. The two Chinese-language markets had processed more than $35 billion combined since 2021, according to Elliptic data cited by Reuters.
Telegram said at the time that scamming and money laundering violated its terms. Xinbi, however, later returned through new channels, while other guarantee marketplaces absorbed business displaced by the removals.
By June 2025, Elliptic found that Tudou Guarantee, a market partly owned by Huione Group, had more than doubled in size and was handling about $15 million in daily crypto payments. Xinbi had also rebuilt its user base, demonstrating that removing messaging accounts had not eliminated the payment networks behind the marketplaces.
The guarantee-market model provided escrow and deposit services intended to keep vendors from cheating their customers. Researchers said operators used the same structure to connect scam groups with sellers of stolen data, laundering services, telecommunications tools and equipment linked to forced-labor compounds.
In Southeast Asia, some scam centers have relied on trafficked workers who were recruited with false job offers and then forced to contact potential victims. U.S. authorities have treated the fraud committed against investors and the trafficking of workers as connected parts of the same criminal system.
-- Price
U.S. agencies increase pressure on crypto scam networks
The Xinbi operation adds to a series of actions by the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, and Treasury against overseas networks accused of targeting Americans through fake cryptocurrency investments.
U.S. enforcement has included wallet seizures, civil forfeiture complaints, website takedowns and sanctions against financial companies accused of processing scam proceeds. In each type of action, authorities must identify the specific assets, accounts, or infrastructure connected to the suspected offense.
Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network took separate action against Cambodia-based Huione Group in May 2025, identifying it as a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. FinCEN said Huione had laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025.
According to FinCEN's findings, the total included at least $37 million linked to North Korean cyber theft, $36 million from crypto investment fraud, and $300 million from other cyber scams. The agency also cited weak or absent anti-money laundering and customer-verification controls across Huione's business network.
This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.
You may also like

Bitget Integrates Sygnum's Banking Custody, Surpassing 50% of Global Trading Volume

Trump-Xi: The 3 Issues Threatening Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

Bitwise survey finds 1%-2% crypto allocations dominate

唐华斑竹: Nearly $1 Billion Net Inflow for Bitcoin ETF in a Single Day

StarkWare cuts BTC quantum-resistant transaction cost by 79% to 66 dollars

Bitcoin, Sports, and Politics: Predictive Markets Target $10 Trillion

Exclusive Interview with CK Zheng of ZX Squared Capital: How a Wall Street Risk Control Expert Accurately Grasped Market Trends and Outperformed Bitcoin Returns by Double

BTC Share Drops to 44.2%, ETH Share in the Americas Rises to 38.5%

MIT Warns AI Bubble May Require 2.7x Productivity Increase by 2030

CME Plans to Launch BCH and UNI Futures on October 19

Bankless Ventures Partner Claims ZEC Will Attract Bitcoin Funds in 2026

Kalshi Denies Investigation by the U.S. CFTC into Its Trading Activities

Trump Buys Coinbase and Strategy in July, Sells CleanSpark and MARA

US Bond Market 'Meltdown'... Why Are Interest Rates Soaring?

Coinbase plans post-quantum Bitcoin custody for any scheme

Treasury’s cash balance nears $1 trillion while Bitcoin awaits a crucial market signal

Increase in Preference for Stablecoins in AI Payments, Bitcoin Drops to 20%

Satoshi Wallet Captures 1.17 Million BTC, 99.86% Unmoved

The Quantum Issue: You Never Really Know The Future

唐华斑竹 Analyzes Bitcoin Price Fluctuations

US PMI Data Rises, Interest Rate Hike Expectations Increase, Oil Prices Surge, Bitcoin and Gold Decline

MONITOR Price Prediction 2026: Can The Situation Reach $0.01?
MONITOR Price Prediction 2026: Explore The Situation crypto price trends, Robinhood Chain meme narrative, technical analysis, and whether MONITOR can reach $0.01.

Coin Metrics revises 19 months of Bitcoin ETF wallet data

Liquid Suspends L-BTC Redemptions After Attack, Attacker Holds Over $51 Million in Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency ownership in the United States falls to 11% in June

Bitcoin Rises 36%, Korean Retail Investors Stay Out of the Rally

HTX Research Analyst WZ: Crypto Market Pricing Extends Beyond Crypto, Regulation and Liquidity Become Key Variables

Why leaving your crypto on an exchange is not the same as having it in your own wallet?

Binance Under Scrutiny Again for Iran-Related Trading








