Safety

Stolen Ledger Funds Converted to USDD to Avoid Tether Freeze Controls

October 10, 2026, 2:06 AM UTC (3 hours ago) · 1 source · Summarized by CryptoBipto

Funds stolen in a Ledger-related theft have reportedly been moved into USDD, a stablecoin that operates outside of Tether's ability to freeze assets. The shift appears designed to evade the freeze mechanisms that centralized stablecoin issuers like Tether can use to lock stolen funds on-chain.

WHY IT MATTERS

When someone steals cryptocurrency, companies that issue certain digital currencies can sometimes "freeze" the stolen money, similar to how a bank can freeze a compromised account. Tether, which issues the popular USDT stablecoin, has this power. But not all stablecoins work the same way. USDD is a different stablecoin that Tether cannot control. By converting stolen funds into USDD, the thieves moved the money into a form that is harder for any single company to lock down. This case illustrates an important concept for beginners: decentralization can be a double-edged sword. It can protect users from censorship, but it can also make it harder to stop criminals from moving stolen funds.

When cryptocurrency is stolen, one of the tools available to law enforcement and the broader ecosystem is the ability of centralized stablecoin issuers, such as Tether (issuer of USDT), to freeze tokens associated with known theft addresses.

Read the full analysis with a CryptoBipto membership

Members can read the full analysis of every story, not just the headline.

Get started

SOURCES

thedefiant.io

USDDUSDTStablecoinsCrypto TheftAsset FreezingDeFi SecurityLedger

Learn the concepts behind this

Clear explanations of the subjects this article touches, with every term defined.

What are stablecoins, NFTs and tokenized assets?What stablecoins are and how they hold a steady value, what an NFT represents, and what it means to tokenize a real-world asset.