Thai businessmen sue Tether over $42.4 million USDT freeze

Two Thai entrepreneurs have filed a lawsuit against Tether Holdings and related entities in the Southern District of New York, alleging that the stablecoin issuer froze more than $42 million worth of USDT on ten Ethereum addresses before any official seizure warrant was issued.

Background of the freeze

On‑chain data shows that all ten addresses were blacklisted in a single batch between 23:00:35 and 23:03:11 UTC on Oct. 30 2025. The combined balance at that moment was 42,417,785.617689 USDT, matching the amount cited in the complaint. The largest address, linked to one of the plaintiffs, held roughly 26.1 million USDT.

Legal claims

The complaint, filed on Aug. 31 and re‑filed on Sep. 1, lists five causes of action: declaratory judgment on the federal seizure process, conversion, trespass to chattels, unjust enrichment (as an alternative), and additional declaratory and injunctive relief. Four Tether entities—Tether Holdings, Tether International, Tether Operations, and Tether Investments—are named as defendants. Judge Lewis J. Liman is assigned to the case, and summonses were issued on Sep. 1. Tether has not yet responded.

Alleged timeline

The plaintiffs claim Tether acted on an “informal request” from a U.S. government agency (identified as a Homeland Security Investigations agent) before any warrant existed. A formal seizure warrant dated Feb. 19 2026 was issued more than three months after the freeze. The complaint also notes an email from Tether to one plaintiff on Nov. 2 2025 directing him to a HSI agent, without disclosing that Tether had already frozen the funds.

Tether’s response and broader context

Tether has described the lawsuit as a “baseless attempt to interfere” with its cooperation with law enforcement. In April, the company reported that it had frozen over $4.4 billion in assets across 2,300 cases worldwide, including more than $2.1 billion linked to U.S. authorities. The $42.4 million at issue represents roughly 0.02 % of USDT’s total market cap of $183.3 billion at the time of reporting.

Related proceedings

The plaintiffs also filed a Rule 41(g) motion for the return of the frozen property in the Eastern District of North Carolina on July 31. The government received an extension to respond on Aug. 21, and the motion remains pending.