Tether Freezes Over $45 Million in Xinbi-Linked USDT

Tether has frozen more than $45 million in USDT, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, that blockchain analysts say was tied to an online marketplace called Xinbi. The Tether USDT freeze means the affected tokens can no longer be moved or spent, effectively locking them in place. KEY TAKEAWAYS Tether froze USDT, meaning the tokens are locked and cannot be transferred. The reported value of the frozen funds is more than $45 million. The funds are described as linked to the Xinbi marketplace. Tether freezes more than $45 million in USDT A freeze does not delete the tokens. It flags the wallets holding them so the coins can no longer be sent anywhere, similar to a bank locking an account. For related coverage, see USDT Gets Brazil Payment Route Reaching 170 Million People. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that the frozen wallets held about $52.8 million in USDT, a figure higher than the roughly $45 million cited when the news first broke. Tether has not published its own statement confirming the exact amount. For related coverage, see Orionx Freezes Withdrawals and Is Shutting Down. USDT frozen, according to Elliptic $52.8 million Elliptic reports that Xinbi-linked wallets held $52.8 million in USDT when frozen, updating the headline’s $45 million threshold. Report published September 9, 2026; not independently corroborated. Elliptic said 52 wallets belonging to Xinbi and its merchants were frozen beginning September 8, 2026, at 08:00 UTC. The firm said it worked with the U.S. Secret Service and that its wallet intelligence directly enabled the action. Frozen wallets, according to Elliptic 52 Elliptic reports that 52 wallets belonging to Xinbi and its merchants were frozen beginning September 8, 2026, at 08:00 UTC. Not independently corroborated. Freezing tokens is a tool Tether has used before. It recently worked with investigators to freeze $72 million in USDT tied to tracked fund flows, and U.S. authorities have separately frozen $131 million in crypto linked to sanctioned entities. The reported link to Xinbi marketplace The frozen funds are described as linked to Xinbi, not confirmed as owned or controlled by any named person. That distinction matters, because a reported connection is not the same as established control. Elliptic said Xinbi Guarantee and its merchants have processed at least $24 billion in transactions since starting in 2022. That number is total transaction volume, not a measure of victim losses. The firm separately reported that a payments service called Xinbi Pay, also known as XPay, processed a further $6 billion. Elliptic treats that service as distinct from the marketplace itself. What remains unclear about the freeze Elliptic said Xinbi swapped roughly $2.8 million of remaining USDT into USDD, a different stablecoin, through a decentralized exchange in the hours after the freeze.