THORChain technical co-founder Chad Barraford said Tether temporarily blacklisted four vault addresses linked to the decentralized network, freezing about 1.45 million USDT before the addresses were restored several hours later.
Barraford said the funds were frozen without an explanation and that THORChain had not communicated with Tether before the action. He said the network was trying to contact the stablecoin issuer to understand what happened, adding that the freeze might have resulted from an error or misunderstanding. According to Cointelegraph, trading was expected to resume after Tether unfroze all four addresses.
What happened to the THORChain vaults
The affected addresses held THORChain’s USDT funds across four wallets. Barraford said Tether had blacklisted the vaults, a move that prevents the associated tokens from being transferred while the restriction remains in place. He later reported that the addresses had been unfrozen roughly two hours after his initial public comments.
The incident involved Tether’s USDt, the dollar-linked stablecoin commonly known by its ticker, USDT. Unlike a cryptocurrency operating solely through an open network, a centrally issued stablecoin can include issuer-controlled functions that allow tokens connected to particular addresses to be restricted. That makes access to stablecoin liquidity dependent not only on the blockchain but also on the issuer’s decisions.
Tether and THORChain had not provided an immediate response to Cointelegraph’s requests for more information at the time of the report. The reason for the temporary blacklisting therefore remained unclear.
Wider scrutiny of Tether freezes
The THORChain episode comes amid other legal disputes involving Tether’s handling of frozen USDT. Earlier in the same week, cross-border payments company Conduit Technology sued the issuer, alleging that Tether froze $2.76 million in USDT held in a wallet connected to an investigation opened by Brazilian authorities in 2024.
In a separate case filed in August, two Thai nationals alleged that Tether froze $42.4 million in USDT following what they described as an “informal request” from US Homeland Security Investigations. These allegations are claims in lawsuits and do not establish that the alleged conduct occurred.
Together, the cases highlight the ability of a stablecoin issuer to restrict transfers involving specific wallets. For networks and businesses that use USDT for trading or cross-border settlement, a temporary freeze can interrupt access to funds even when the underlying blockchain remains operational.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 11:38-11:39 on October 11, 2026, showed USDT at $0.9990267186, down 0.01% over 24 hours and 0.09% over seven days. THORChain’s RUNE token was trading at $0.6837637187, down 0.42% in 24 hours and 14.19% over seven days.
Ethereum stood at $2,500.4681188669, up 0.25% over 24 hours but down 7.42% over seven days. Plasma’s XPL was priced at $0.0868016464, down 0.04% over 24 hours and 8.68% over seven days. The market figures describe prices and percentage moves at those stated times; they do not establish a connection between the temporary wallet restrictions and the token performance.
