T3 financial crime unit, backed by Tron, Tether, TRM labs, has now frozen $300M in assets

What to know

• T3 Financial Crime Unit, a task force back by Tether, TRON and TRM Labs, has frozen $300 million in tainted funds since it started up a year ago.
• The initiative has evolved into a global model for blockchain security and earned praise from international law enforcement.
• T3's efforts, including the T3+ Global Collaborator Program, highlight the potential of industry-led enforcement in combating financial crime in the crypto sector.

T3 Financial Crime Unit, a crypto task force said it froze $300 million in tainted funds in its first year of operation, earning praise from international law enforcement and showing the stablecoin industry is capable of policing itself.

Formed in late 2024 by stablecoin issuer Tether, the Tron blockchain and TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence platform, to clean up stablecoin activity on Tron, the unit has evolved into a global enforcement model for blockchain security and signals a shift in how the crypto industry handles compliance and accountability.

The unit monitors transactions and coordinates high-profile seizures, including proceeds from “pig butchering” scams and organized crime networks in Europe. Its investigations now span five continents, with recent recognition from Brazil’s Federal Police for its role in Operation Lusocoin, a major money-laundering bust, underscoring how public-private collaboration is reshaping financial crime prevention in crypto.

“Tether is deeply committed to maintaining the integrity of the financial ecosystem by collaborating with over 280 law enforcement agencies globally,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of the USDT issuer in a release.

The $300 million milestone follows a series of major enforcement achievements since the unit’s launch in September 2024.

By January 2025, T3 had frozen $100 million in illicit USDT, including $3 million tied to North Korean networks, and by August it had crossed the $250 million mark while launching its T3+ Global Collaborator Program.

That initiative, which brings exchanges and industry players into real-time coordination with law enforcement, began with Binance and has already led to the freezing of $6 million linked to a pig-butchering scam.