Tether, Tron, and TRM labs launch financial crime unit

Tether, TRON and TRM Labs announced on Tuesday the creation of a new financial crime unit. This collaboration aims to combat illicit activity associated with the use of USDT on the TRON blockchain with the combined help of TRM Labs’ anti-financial crime expertise, TRON’s blockchain technology, and Tether’s investigations team.

Launch of first private-sector crime unit

Tether, TRON and TRM Labs said in a blog post on Tuesday that they have joined forces to establish the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), an initiative aimed at facilitating public-private collaboration to combat illicit activity associated with the use of USDT on the TRON blockchain.

This collaboration combines TRM Labs’ anti-financial crime expertise, TRON’s technical capabilities, and Tether’s external investigations team to enhance safety and security within the crypto community.

“At Tether, safeguarding the integrity of the blockchain ecosystem is a top priority and a responsibility we embrace with being a key player in the digital asset space. This commitment drives us to take proactive measures in helping maintain the security and trustworthiness of the ecosystem,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether in a blog post.

“TRON is helping to ensure that blockchain technology is used to make our world a better place, and sends a clear message that illicit activity is not welcome in our industry,” said Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain in his Twitter post.

Around half of the $117 billion USDT market capitalization is issued on Tron, a blockchain that has also been often used by scammers, terrorist financiers and other threat actors.

According to the statement, the initiative has already facilitated the freezing or more than $12 million in USDT in funds associated with a blackmail scam and an investment fraud scheme.

“As adoption of stablecoins continues to rise, it’s critical that key industry players proactively evolve their capabilities to combat illicit activity and ensure a safe and secure environment,” said Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs.