Tether has frozen approximately $39.3 million in USDT held across 10 addresses on the Tron network connected to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language Telegram-based escrow marketplace. Blockchain monitoring firm MistTrack identified the action on September 8, 2026, reporting that the wallets contained a combined 39,273,713 USDT at the time of the freeze.

Balances in the affected addresses varied widely. One held roughly 10.78 million USDT, while several others contained around 8 million each. Smaller holdings included amounts near 2 million, 1.28 million and 1.17 million USDT, with three addresses containing only 1 USDT apiece.

Xinbi Guarantee and Its Scale

Xinbi Guarantee emerged around 2022 as a Telegram marketplace that connects merchants and buyers through third-party escrow arrangements, with USDT frequently used for settlement. Blockchain analytics firms have described it as one of the largest platforms of its kind in Southeast Asia for cashing out proceeds from online scams, including so-called pig-butchering operations, and for money-laundering activity.

TRM Labs has estimated that Xinbi-linked wallets have processed about $24.2 billion in total transaction volume since the platform’s launch. Earlier figures from the same firm placed cumulative volume at $17.9 billion by February 2026, with substantial activity continuing after enforcement measures. Most of the flows occurred on Tron because of its low fees and rapid settlement.

The United Kingdom sanctioned Xinbi in March over alleged ties to scam compounds and human rights abuses. Despite the designation, the platform continued operating through alternative channels. Telegram removed related channels in May 2025, yet Xinbi resumed activity shortly afterward and later expanded into other services, including a payment product referred to in some analyses as XinbiPay or Xpay.

Similar Actions Against Related Platforms

The freeze follows an earlier Tether action against Huione Guarantee, a comparable Cambodia-based Telegram escrow service. In July 2024, Tether blocked more than $28 million in USDT held in a single wallet linked to Huione. After Telegram banned channels associated with both platforms on the same day in May 2025, Huione’s monthly volume declined sharply while Xinbi’s daily inflows rose nearly 90 percent, according to on-chain data cited by researchers.

A separate forensics firm, Bitrace, reported a higher total of roughly $45 million frozen across 21 addresses in the latest action. Nineteen of those were attributed to Xinbi Guarantee itself, while two were labeled as belonging to its newer payment service.

Tether’s Freezing Authority and Broader Context

Tether retains the technical ability to blacklist specific addresses through its USDT smart contracts, preventing further transfers of tokens held in those wallets. The company has not publicly detailed the reason for the September 8 freeze or confirmed whether it responded to a formal law-enforcement request. MistTrack and other monitors detected the blacklisting through independent blockchain surveillance.

The action adds to Tether’s cumulative total of more than $4.2 billion in frozen USDT since 2022. The issuer has stated that it cooperates with more than 340 law-enforcement agencies in 65 countries. At the same time, its freezing power is under legal challenge. Two Thai businessmen filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court alleging that Tether blacklisted $42.4 million of their USDT on the basis of a verbal request from a U.S. agent before any warrant existed. Tether has described the suit as a baseless attempt to interfere with its work with global authorities.

Previous freezes involving Tron addresses have targeted funds linked to other illicit networks, including more than $72 million identified by an independent investigator and wallets associated with a sanctioned terrorist group. Researchers note that operators of platforms such as Xinbi can attempt to shift activity to new wallets, alternative stablecoins or different messaging services, though the removal of tens of millions of dollars still imposes immediate costs and operational friction.

As of the latest reports, neither Tether nor Xinbi Guarantee has issued a public statement explaining the specific trigger for the freeze. On-chain data will determine over coming months whether the action meaningfully disrupts the platform’s overall transaction volumes.