Russians Have Been Threatened with Having Their Funds Frozen in a Popular Cryptocurrency
Russian cryptocurrency owners are being warned about the risk of having their assets frozen in USDT, a stablecoin and one of the most widely used digital currencies in the world. According to experts, access to such funds may be restricted by a decision of the U.S. administration, and similar cases have already been reported involving large assets held by users from Russia and Iran.
"Putin’s defense bank has warned of the threat of freezing Russians’ cryptocurrency assets. Russians may face the freezing of assets in one of the most popular cryptocurrencies—the USDT stablecoin," the report states.
As explained by Petr Fradkov, chairman of PSB Bank—a key institution for the Russian military-industrial complex— Tether Limited retains full control over the USDT it has issued and can “freeze” funds in accounts not only of holders linked to illegal activities but also “simply at the direction of the U.S. administration.”
“Such precedents already exist. Such mechanisms have already been applied. In particular, in recent years, large assets belonging to individuals from Iran and Russia have been frozen,” Fradkov said.
The PSB chairman noted that the company issuing USDT is one of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds. This, he said, means that the fundamental dependence on the dollar and the U.S. debt market “is not going anywhere.”
“There should be no illusions here: yes, the technology has changed, but the dependence remains. This shows that even a modern digital instrument can remain entirely under the issuer’s control,” Fradkov explained.
This is being reported by Russian propaganda media.
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