Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs Form Alliance to Combat Illicit USDT Activities

Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs have established the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU) to tackle financial crimes. The focus will be on preventing illegal use of USDT on the TRON blockchain.

The TRON blockchain accounts for 60.78 billion tokens out of 118.37 billion in circulation, representing a 51.34% share, according to the stablecoin issuer’s website.

The initiative aims to foster public and private sector collaboration to enhance the security and reliability of the digital asset industry.

T3 FCU combines TRM Labs’ expertise in combating financial crimes, TRON’s technical capabilities, and Tether’s external investigations team.

Alliance members noted that as the TRON blockchain and its user base grow, so does its unwanted exposure to criminal elements.

The creation of T3 FCU will limit the ability of wrongdoers to launder and utilize their illicit gains, ensuring the integrity of the TRON blockchain.

As part of the collaboration, TRM Labs will provide ongoing support in identifying transactions linked to suspected illegal activities such as terrorism, sanctions evasion, cybercrime, and fraud. The firm will leverage technology and a global network of investigative experts to gather actionable intelligence.

Within weeks of its launch, the alliance managed to freeze over $12 million in funds related to cases including extortion and investment fraud schemes.

In 2023, the TRON blockchain accounted for $19.3 billion of the total $35 billion in illicit cryptocurrency transactions (45%), according to TRM Labs.

In January, experts from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime highlighted the increasing popularity of USDT as a tool for money laundering.

Responses were published by both the TRON team led by Justin Sun and the USDT issuer Tether.

Back in August, Tether reported the recovery of over $108.8 million in USDT since its launch in 2014, as part of investigations by 145 law enforcement agencies across 40 jurisdictions.