TRON, Tether, and TRM Labs have announced they will be joining forces to establish the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), described as a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at facilitating public-private collaboration to combat illicit activity associated with the use of USDT on the TRON blockchain.
This collaboration aims to bring together the “anti-financial crime expertise of TRM Labs, a leading blockchain intelligence firm; the technical expertise of TRON, a global blockchain and DAO; and the external investigations team at Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry, to create a safer and more secure crypto community for all.”
In the weeks since launch, the initiative, in collaboration “with law enforcement, facilitated the freezing of over USDT 12 million in funds associated with a blackmail scam, an investment fraud scheme, and others.”
Police are aware of at least 11 victims “impacted by the scams and expect to identify additional victims as the investigations unfold.”
Stablecoins like USDT serve as “the backbone of the digital asset industry, providing a stablestore of value and enabling seamless movement of funds between platforms.”
With over USD 117 billion in market capitalization and “more than 50% of its circulating supply running on the TRON blockchain, USDT is integral to facilitating transactions and liquidity. However, the same features that make USDT on TRON attractive to legitimate users — low fees, lack of volatility, and ease of use — have also drawn the attention of scammers, terrorist financiers, and other threat actors. And as the TRON blockchain’s popularity and user base grow, drawn by its high throughput and low transaction costs, so too does its exposure to these criminal elements.”
The establishment of the T3 FCU represents “a significant step towards impeding the ability of malicious actors to launder and utilize the proceeds of crime, safeguarding the integrity of the TRON blockchain.”
As part of the collaboration, TRM will provide “ongoing support to TRON and Tether in identifying transactions with a connection to alleged illegal activities such as terrorism, sanctions evasion, theft, hacking, cybercrime and fraud.”
TRM will leverage its proprietary technology “as well as its global network of expert investigators to generate intelligence.”
The work will support TRON and Tether’s efforts “to disrupt criminal activity and aid collaborations with law enforcement around the world.”
By collaborating to proactively identify and “disrupt illicit activity, the T3 FCU aims to promote security and prosperity across the TRON network and beyond.”
