Stablecoin giants Tether and Circle have reportedly frozen funds linked to an Iranian crypto exchange. The platforms targeted a wallet belonging to Wallex, locking $117,000 in USDT and USDC. They have also halted the exchange’s movement of assets across blockchains. The latest reports reveal that Circle and Tether have taken joint action to block crypto wallet addresses linked to Iranian crypto exchange Wallex.
The platform blacklisted an Ethereum wallet linked to Wallex, freezing stablecoins while the exchange was shifting funds across blockchains. Now, the wallets cannot send or receive USDT or USDC. It was reported that around $2.49 million was moved into wallets that were later frozen, and no funds were withdrawn after the freeze took effect. Wallex hasn’t been officially sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
But crypto activity linked to Iran still faces broad sanctions risks. The move comes on the heels of a notable fall in the shares of Circle. The freeze affected a wallet (0x6926…43df) that held about $117,000 in Tether, USD Coin, and a few smaller coins. It is also worth noting that the entire exchange has not been shut down.
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