Tron and Tether bring in Chainalysis after T3 crime unit folds

Tron, Tether and Chainalysis announced a task force Thursday to identify and disrupt illicit activity involving USDT (USDT) stablecoin on the Tron blockchain.

The Digital Crime Task Force will use blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis’ data and AI tools to flag suspicious activity and give law enforcement leads to trace and freeze funds, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

Bloomberg reported on Nov. 4 that the T3 Financial Crime Unit, which Tron and Tether formed with TRM Labs in 2024, disbanded in late August. An unnamed source cited by the outlet said slow responses and poor coordination hampered the unit.

Cointelegraph contacted Tether, Tron and TRM Labs for comment but did not receive responses by publication time.

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The task force’s priorities include investment and romance scams, crypto theft, terrorist financing, North Korean cyber operations and cartel money laundering.

“Criminals are using AI to move faster than ever, and waiting for a victim to report a crime is no longer good enough,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in the announcement. He put Tether’s cumulative USDT freezes at more than $7 billion.