Tether Blocks 131 TRON Addresses Linked to ISIS-K After OFAC Update
Tether froze all 131 TRON wallets newly sanctioned by OFAC as part of an updated ISIS-Khorasan designation issued on July 1. The flagged addresses received over $1.4 million since 2023, according to Chainalysis.
Stablecoin issuer Tether moved to freeze funds across all 131 TRON wallets included in a revised US Treasury designation targeting ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), following an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) update published on July 1.
The OFAC action added a total of 134 cryptocurrency addresses as identifiers for the militant group. Of those, 131 are on the TRON (TRX) network and three are on the Monero (XMR) blockchain, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
The 131 designated TRON wallets collectively received more than $1.4 million in crypto since 2023 and sent over $880,000 during the same period, Chainalysis reported. A portion of those addresses routed funds to cryptocurrency exchangers operating in Syria, while the broader network of wallets showed significant exposure to mainstream crypto services.
Chainalysis published a Reactor Graph illustrating the transaction flows among the ISIS-K-linked TRON wallets, highlighting their connections to regional financial infrastructure.
ISIS-K is active across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Central Asia. OFAC first designated the group as a Specially Designated Terrorist Organization in September 2015. Its media unit, al-Azaim Media Foundation, has used websites and messaging platforms to solicit cryptocurrency donations. Chainalysis noted that individual contributions have historically been small, reflecting the limited financial means of the group's supporters. The firm said it has compiled historical donation addresses across TRON, Monero, and Bitcoin.
The July 1 designation follows a separate OFAC action in June targeting Syrian money service businesses that converted funds for ISIS financiers. In a related 2023 case, OFAC designated Ali Shafiu, a Maldives-based operative whose TRON wallet was found by Chainalysis to have interacted with deposit addresses connected to Iranian exchanges.
Tether's latest freeze fits a broader trend of private-sector cooperation with government sanctions enforcement. The company's T3 Financial Crime Unit — a joint operation with TRON and blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs — has frozen more than $450 million in illicit crypto since launching in September 2024, CryptoSearcher reported in May.
Other industry players have taken parallel steps. Coinbase froze over $3 million in assets tied to Southeast Asian fraud networks during the US Justice Department's Disruption Week campaign.
