USDT.. the backbone of suspicious transactions
Surprisingly, the currency used in most of these operations was not a privacy coin like Monero or Zcash, but USDT, which is one of the most centralized and transparent stablecoins, directly tied to the US dollar. According to an Elliptic report, this currency represents the backbone of the majority of payments in these black markets.
The appeal seems to lie in the ease of using USDT on networks like TRON, where fees are low and transfer speeds are high. The proliferation of USDT wallets through applications and bots on Telegram has made it accessible even to non-technical users.
But here a serious paradox arises: Tether is able to freeze funds linked to any suspicious or illegal activity, and it has already done so in several cases. So how does this market thrive using its currency?
The story here is not just the exploitation of a digital currency in suspicious operations, but reveals a deep challenge between decentralization and regulation. USDT, although an effective financial tool, has become a double-edged sword: on one hand, it supports legitimate trading and usage, and on the other hand, it is used in widespread fraud and money laundering.
With European regulations coming into effect, such as MiCA, pressure is expected to increase on Tether to disclose its financial and technical structure. But until then, the question remains: Can the digital world enforce discipline on its tools, or will criminals always stay one step ahead?
