Frequently asked questions
How stablecoin blocklisting works, and how to use blocklist.fyi. See also the glossary.
- Can Tether freeze my wallet?
- Yes. Tether can add any address to the USDT contract's blocklist, which freezes that address's USDT - it can no longer be sent or received. Tether does this in response to law-enforcement and court requests, typically involving theft, scams or sanctions. The action is an on-chain transaction, so it is public.
- What happens to frozen USDT?
- A blocklisted address's USDT stays on-chain but becomes non-transferable - the balance is frozen in place. Tether can subsequently destroy those tokens, permanently removing them from the circulating supply. Both the freeze and any later destroy are recorded on-chain.
- How do I check if an address is blocklisted?
- Enter the address on blocklist.fyi (the checker on the home page, or the USDT/USDC checker pages). You will get a status page showing whether the address is blocklisted on each chain, when it happened, and the balance frozen at that time.
- Which stablecoins can be blocklisted?
- Centrally-issued stablecoins with an issuer-controlled blocklist - most notably USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle), and USD1 (World Liberty Financial). We track all three across 40+ chains.
- Can a blocklisted address be unblocklisted?
- Yes, though it is uncommon. The issuer can remove an address from the blocklist, restoring its ability to transfer the token. We record these as unblocklisting events.
- Why do most USDT freezes happen on TRON?
- TRON carries the largest circulating USDT supply and is heavily used for transfers, so it is where most illicit-fund freezes and law-enforcement actions occur.
- What is a pending blocklisting?
- On chains where freezes are proposed through a multi-signature wallet (such as TRON), the freeze must be confirmed before it executes. During that window we show it as pending; once executed it becomes a confirmed blocklisting.
- Is Tether or Circle notified before freezing - can I appeal?
- Freezes are initiated by the issuer, usually following a law-enforcement or court request. blocklist.fyi is an independent tracker and is not affiliated with any issuer; we cannot freeze, unfreeze or appeal on anyone's behalf. We only record and surface the on-chain events.
- Is the data accurate and up to date?
- We index the events directly from the token contracts on each chain in real time, and cross-check every feed against an independent source. Each address page links to the underlying on-chain events so you can verify them yourself.
- What are contributor credits and how do I earn them?
- Signed-in users can submit intelligence about blocklisted addresses (who owns them, why they were frozen, with sources). When a moderator verifies your note you earn a star on the leaderboard plus credits - more for higher-confidence notes. Credits are spent automatically: extra "Ask the data" questions once your free daily allowance is used, or extra API calls once your key's daily quota is reached. Your balance, history and the current rates are on your account page.