Tether CEO says Senate probe misses work behind lower Iran volumes
Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino pushed back on the Senate Democrats' report linking USDT to Iran's shadow banking system, saying the investigation misses Tether's compliance work that he credits with reducing Iran-linked volumes. The report, published by Sen. Richard Blumenthal's subcommittee, accused the stablecoin of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions.
Ardoino cited Tether's record as counter-evidence: frozen flagged addresses an average of four weeks before official designations since 2023, nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT frozen in 2026, and wallet freezes that Tether claims cut Iran-linked volumes by 94%. The rebuttal lands alongside Blumenthal's separate letter to Cantor Fitzgerald over its roughly 5% stake in Tether and custody of the issuer's reserves.
Sources
- LATEST: Tether CEO Paulo Ardoino posted on X that his company is often way ahead of government sanctions when it freezes suspicious transactions — a point he contends a recent report from Senate Democrats ignored. https://t.co/ULL64ZrKZNx.com ↗
- Tether: Senator's investigation misses positive work that's led to lower Iran volumescoindesk.com ↗
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