Tether Freezes $45 Million USDT Related to Xinbi

Tether has frozen over $45 million USDT related to Xinbi Guarantee, involving at least 22 operational addresses that were blocked on September 9. This action affects wallets used for receiving, transferring, and withdrawing funds. Xinbi has come under scrutiny from authorities, having been sanctioned by the UK in March, which identified it as a major Chinese cryptocurrency market and a money laundering hub linked to Southeast Asian scam operations. Analysis indicates that this freeze involves not only static balance wallets but also intermediary addresses, a hot wallet operated by payment service Xpay, and third-party wallets with close financial ties to Xinbi. Xinbi initially responded by stating it would activate new operational addresses, but these addresses were also frozen shortly thereafter. Bitrace reported that new wallets were blocked on the evening of September 8, less than 12 hours after the first action. As the USDT system comes under pressure, Xinbi has changed its course, notifying users that it will only support USDD transactions going forward and redirecting deposits to this stablecoin. Documentation for USDD claims that the token has anti-freeze capabilities and cannot be blocked, which contradicts the mechanisms Tether has repeatedly used on USDT addresses related to Xinbi.