As Circle, the issuer of the dollar-linked stablecoin USDC, froze 16 operating wallets of multiple companies based on an undisclosed civil lawsuit, it has been confirmed that today the first wallet’s freeze was lifted. ZackXBT said on the 26th via his social media channel that Circle had restored access to the USDC balance of one frozen wallet, ‘0x61f…e543’. The wallet was an operational hot wallet connected to the Goated.com crypto casino platform, and at the time of the freezing it held 130,966 USDC. ZackXBT also stated that the other wallets affected in the same incident may be unlocked in the near future.
The incident began when Circle froze the USDC balances of 16 hot wallets owned by different companies in an undisclosed civil lawsuit. The frozen wallets were core operating wallets used by businesses across various sectors, including cryptocurrency exchanges and FX-related firms, that handle large-scale real-time user transactions. As a result, those companies faced immediate disruptions to customer asset handling and overall service operations. ZackXBT had raised strong questions about the validity of the freeze action the day before, on the 25th.
He pointed out that the sixteen frozen wallets have no clear connection to one another and belong to independent companies with different industries and business structures. On this basis, he directly criticized Circle for accepting the civil lawsuit’s freezing requests without sufficient review. The assets of third-party companies not parties to the lawsuit were effectively blocked solely on legal grounds. Circle has not disclosed details of the civil lawsuit that served as the basis for the freeze, and there is no official timetable for unfreezing the remaining wallets.
Circle, the issuer of the dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, froze the operational wallets of multiple companies under an undisclosed civil lawsuit, sparking widespread concern. On the 26th, ZackXBT announced via his social channel that Circle had restored access to one frozen wallet, 0x61f…e543, enabling USDC balance withdrawal. The wallet is connected to Goated.com, a crypto casino platform, and held 130,966 USDC at the time of the freeze. ZackXBT also indicated that other affected wallets may be unlocked in the near term.
The freeze targeted core operating wallets used by businesses across various sectors, including cryptocurrency exchanges and FX-related firms, which handle large-scale real-time user transactions, causing immediate disruption to customer asset handling and service operations. The action originated from a civil lawsuit whose details Circle has not disclosed publicly. The sixteen wallets belonged to independent companies with no clearly defined connection, and Circle has faced scrutiny for accepting the freeze requests without publicly sharing the lawsuit’s specifics or timelines for unfreezing the remaining wallets. The crypto industry remains closely watching for further actions and any disclosure of the lawsuit’s content.
Leave a Reply