DOJ thanks Tether for assistance in $52 million Xinbi crypto action

Authorities restrained more than $52 million in cryptocurrency in a single day targeting Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace alleged to have served scam centers and organized criminal groups worldwide. Tether said in its primary announcement that the United States Department of Justice specifically thanked the company for proactive assistance in the investigation.

Xinbi operated through Telegram. Authorities allege it connected scam operators with vendors offering money-laundering services, fraudulent investment websites and recruitment of trafficking victims for work in scam compounds.

The wallet count gives the action shape. Authorities seized two wallets used by Xinbi to collect approximately $12 million in vendor payments, and sought restraint of 47 additional wallets believed tied to money-laundering activity. That is 49 wallets across the two categories of action: two seized wallets and 47 additional wallets authorities sought to restrain. The two seized wallets represent roughly 23.1% of the $52 million total restrained, calculated as $12 million divided by $52 million.

Tether’s announcement does not establish the current status of the 47 additional wallets, name specific charges against Xinbi’s operators, or provide a deadline for the requested restraints — gaps that matter for holders and counterparties tracking whether the broader $52 million will remain frozen and how much can ultimately be forfeited. Owners and custodians of the 49 wallets may be unable to move the affected funds; the available facts do not state the next court step or a deadline.

One court filing is on the record. United States v. Approximately 55,608.765 TetherUS (UUSDT$0.9997▲0.01%) cryptocurrency from Binance account number ending in 9745, 2:22-cv-00749, (E.D. Wis. Sep 10, 2026) ECF No. 28 records a same-day action involving 55,608.765 USDT. The available facts identify that filing but don’t state whether its wallet is one of the two seized Xinbi wallets or among the 47 sought for restraint.

For Tether, what’s material here is public attribution from the DOJ — not a new token mechanic or a protocol change. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, wrote in the announcement: “By now, criminal organizations should understand that using digital assets does not put them beyond the reach of the law.”

Ardoino also said, “Tether has consistently demonstrated that the stablecoin infrastructure can give law enforcement powerful tools to identify, disrupt, and stop illicit financial activity.” Tether’s account frames its role as operational assistance to investigators, with stablecoin infrastructure helping authorities trace and freeze assets before they move further.

The aggregate enforcement history Tether reported in the announcement is substantial. The company said it has collaborated with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 countries and assisted in more than 2,800 cases globally, more than 1,600 of them involving U.S. law enforcement. Those efforts contributed to the freezing of more than $5 billion in assets linked to illicit activity, per Tether — more than $2.5 billion of that in cooperation with U.S. authorities, and more than $344 million in USD₮ frozen specifically in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and U.S. law enforcement. The announcement does not break those totals down by case or provide a separate audit.

Tether also listed three prior enforcement examples in the same announcement. It said it supported actions involving approximately $225 million in USD₮ linked to an international human-trafficking and romance-scam syndicate, nearly $61 million in USD₮ tied to a large-scale cryptocurrency investment-fraud scheme, and the $344 million figure noted above involving OFAC and U.S. law enforcement.

The Xinbi number sits against those comparisons: $52 million is roughly 23.1% of the $225 million from the human-trafficking and romance-scam case, and about 85.2% of the nearly $61 million from the investment-fraud scheme, using Tether’s own figures. Those ratios describe reported enforcement amounts and don’t establish that the cases share wallets, operators or victims.

Tether said it continues to work directly with the DOJ, FBI, U.S. Secret Service and other authorities globally. Ardoino added, “We thank the DOJ for their acknowledgement of Tether’s proactive role in dismantling this crime network, and will continue to proudly work with agencies around the world to stop bad actors from misusing USD₮.”

For traders, the immediate exposure runs through wallets and counterparties connected to the restraint requests, not any stated change to USDT’s market function. CoinGecko lists Tether at $0.999579 with a 24-hour change of -0.0% at publication: current USDT market data.

In the desk’s assessment, the DOJ’s explicit credit gives future investigations a public example of how stablecoin issuers may assist enforcement. The status of those 47 additional wallets remains unresolved.