- Tether and Circle have frozen approximately $3.7 billion in stablecoins on the Ethereum and Tron blockchains over six years.
- The rate of censorship has accelerated, with 75% of the total, or $2.8 billion, being frozen within the last two years.
- Stablecoin issuers maintain administrative control, allowing them to blacklist wallets or even destroy tokens outright.
On Friday, a new tracker revealed the vast scale of cryptocurrency censorship, showing stablecoin companies have frozen $3.7 billion in assets. Consequently, a debate erupted on social media about the illusion of freedom in these popular digital currencies. However, stablecoins now dominate crypto trading volume, making them more than twice as popular as Bitcoin.
Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation pushed the story online, calling it a “Good reminder that while stables have utility they are not freedom money.” Meanwhile, commentators like Matt Odell expressed shock at the accelerating trend. Another widely shared comment contrasted this with Bitcoin’s censorship resistance.
The data shows a clear and worsening pattern of control. Of the total frozen, a staggering $2.8 billion was censored in just the last two years. Issuers like Tether and Circle can blacklist wallets or use functions like destroyBlackFunds. In fact, Tether incinerated $698 million of the $1.26 billion it froze in 2025 alone, as reports detail.
These powers are often justified as compliance with government orders. For example, Circle froze 75,000 USDC tokens after the Tornado Cash sanctions. Initially, Tether resisted but later partnered with US law enforcement. Ultimately, the utility of major stablecoins stems more from selective permissiveness than true permissionlessness.
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