After the Binance hack: what stablecoin freezes mean for victims
Tether and Circle froze billions after the Binance hack. Why issuers can freeze USDT and USDC, and what it means if you lost money in a scam.
The Binance hack showed how much power stablecoin issuers have: wallets holding stolen USDT and USDC were blocked within days. Here is what that means for individual victims.
Why issuers can freeze
Tether and Circle build a blocking function into their coins. When they add a wallet address to their block list, the coins in it can no longer be moved, on every supported chain.
Why most victims never get a freeze
Freezes for big hacks are driven by police and investigators working together in real time. Individual victims are often too late, or never reach the right people. By the time a request arrives, the money has been swapped or withdrawn.
What helps
- Speed. Trace the money the same day and look for stablecoins still sitting in a wallet.
- A police report. Issuers mostly act when the authorities ask.
- A clear request. The wallet, the transaction hashes and the amount, in one short letter.