Conduit sues Tether over alleged unexplained freezing of $2.76M USDT
Cross-border payments platform Conduit Technology has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against stablecoin issuer Tether, after Tether froze $2.76 million in USDT in September 2025 without explanation. Conduit claims the funds are rightfully theirs and that Tether's actions have materially impacted its business operations.
Details of the lawsuit and Tether’s actions
Conduit Technology alleges that Tether froze $2.76 million in USDT belonging to the company without any legal entitlement. The funds had been held as part of Conduit's digital treasury wallet since May 2025. In September 2025, Tether froze the entire amount without providing any justification, an action that Conduit states has materially affected its business operations.
Conduit expressed frustration that despite the funds being indisputably theirs, Tether took control of them and denied access, emphasizing that Tether cannot seize money from businesses simply because those businesses chose to hold their funds in a currency issued by Tether.
Connection to Brazilian federal investigation and freezing of funds
The lawsuit notes that the freezing was linked to a 2024 investigation by the Brazilian federal police into financial intermediary Bull Intermediação de Negócios and Onix. Tether reportedly identified Conduit's treasury wallet as related to these companies based on its own initiative and criteria, leading to the freezing of the $2.76 million on September 24, 2025.
Conduit repeatedly requested Tether to unfreeze the assets, but as of the lawsuit filing date, no response or action had been taken.
Similar recent lawsuit against Tether
This lawsuit comes roughly one month after two Thai nationals filed suit against Tether for allegedly freezing $42.4 million in USDT after what they called an “informal request” from US Homeland Security Investigations.
Those funds were part of a $61 million pig butchering fraud case filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, which issued a seizure warrant for the USDT in February.
Why it matters
This lawsuit highlights the increasing legal risks and disputes tied to stablecoin issuers like Tether freezing crypto assets. Conduit accuses Tether of unjustifiably withholding substantial funds, raising important questions about user rights and financial security in digital currencies. The case reflects the complex dynamics between law enforcement actions, corporate policies, and asset holders’ rights amid growing regulation in the crypto sector.
Prepared from the source material with AI-assisted editing and checked against the supplied facts.
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