Is Tether Freezing Your Funds? Guess Who’s Getting Rich Off It! 😱💸

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In the glittering world of crypto, where trust is as rare as a unicorn, comes a lawsuit against Tether that has the whole community buzzing. Riverstone Consultancy decided to throw a legal curveball at Tether in the Southern District of New York, claiming that the stablecoin giant froze a massive $44.72 million in USDT after receiving a little “informal” tip-off from the Bulgarian police. Is it a case of “oops, we froze your assets by mistake,” or is something more sinister lurking? Let’s dive in.

Bill Morgan, the lawyer with more sass than a reality TV star, boldly declared this case an “obvious example of unjust enrichment,” comparing it to those exchanges that conveniently “forget” to pass on airdrops to users. Ouch, that stings! 💥 As crypto analyst Jacob King spilled the tea about the lawsuit, Tether was accused of pocketing frozen reserves while telling Riverstone, “Sorry, you can’t have your money back.” Ever heard of customer service, Tether?

Point 3 is an obvious example of unjust enrichment.

Another example would be an exchange that does not pass on airdrops or rewards to customers. I can recall one exchange, for example, that did not pass on songbird to its customers.

– bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) October 16, 2025

The Allegations Against Tether: A Real Rollercoaster!

Here’s the juicy part: Riverstone claims Tether broke international legal norms by freezing funds on the mere whim of a local police request. No formal due process, no problem! On April 4, eight wallets were frozen faster than you can say “blockchain,” and Tether didn’t bother giving a legal explanation. Instead, they told Riverstone to hit up the Bulgarian authorities… who conveniently “forgot” to respond. Classic move.

But wait, there’s more! Riverstone is also accusing Tether of some serious marketing mischief-calling USDT a reliable, liquid stablecoin while secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes. The company claims Tether’s ability to freeze wallets doesn’t exactly scream “transparent transactions.” Call it the crypto equivalent of a magic trick that went wrong.

So, what’s the lawsuit really about? Three things: breach of trust, unfair profit, and taking control of funds without permission. Pretty much the crypto version of “I’ll take your money, but you can’t have it back.” 😤

The Crypto Community Weighs In: Oh, What a Surprise!

Bill Hughes, a lawyer with Consensys, pointed out the elephant in the room: How should stablecoins handle law enforcement requests? Banks can’t just freeze your funds without following legal protocols, but crypto companies? Well, they apparently operate in the wild, wild west. And that leaves users with no protection, no warning, and zero control over their funds. But hey, at least it’s decentralized, right? 😂

Notable lawsuit against @Tether_to just filed in the SDNY days ago. This was brought by a company that used Tether and woke up one morning to find $45mm in funds frozen, allegedly due to an informal request by Bulgarian law enforcement.

Riverstone alleges that Tether falsely…

– Bill Hughes 🦊 (@BillHughesDC) October 15, 2025

Then, blockchain investigator ZachXBT dropped the mic with some spicy details: the wallets in question were linked to shady Ponzi schemes like BETL and Pegasus Ride. Suspicious much? According to Zach, the money trail on the blockchain doesn’t exactly scream “innocent mistake.” “There’s no way you ‘accidentally’ associate $44.7M with tainted addresses,” he said. Oops!

And for the cherry on top, the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC) revealed that Tether had to cough up a whopping $299.5 million to settle the Celsius bankruptcy case. So, how’s Tether handling its financial mess? Probably not with the same care it takes when freezing funds, that’s for sure.

This lawsuit isn’t just about one company’s funds-it’s about the future of crypto, law enforcement, and user rights. With no global rules in sight, it’s becoming clearer than ever: crypto needs some serious ground rules, or we’re all just one “informal” police request away from losing access to our own money. So, how’s that decentralization working out for ya, huh?

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2025-10-16 12:26