Tether keeps its finger on the pulse: will the USDT issuer be able to freeze Russians' assets at the command of the United States?
The question of true decentralization of stablecoins has once again come to the forefront. Tether Limited, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, retains full control over every issued token, regardless of where it is held. This means the company can freeze the assets of any holder — including Russians — at its own discretion or, even more concerning, at the direct instruction of the U.S. administration.
This was stated during a recent speech by PSB Chairman Petr Fradkov, whose bank is actively developing its own payment infrastructure based on the ruble stablecoin A7. The banker emphasized that such precedents have already occurred: not only wallets linked to illegal activity have been frozen, but also large assets of holders from Iran and Russia — and decisions were made without transparent technical details, simply on orders from outside.
Why USDT remains under the issuer's control
The blocking mechanism, according to Fradkov, does not require complex technical tricks. The issuer retains power over every token, wherever it may be. Even transferring USDT to a non-custodial or cold wallet does not guarantee protection from blocking by the company. This destroys the illusion that moving funds to "your own" address makes them unreachable for external interference.
The banker reminded that in recent years, large assets of owners from Iran and Russia have been frozen. Moreover, decisions were made not only due to holders' ties to illegal activity. Furthermore, Tether blocked funds simply at the direction of the U.S. administration, turning a formally private instrument into an externally controlled asset.
Fradkov explained this dependence through the structure of reserves. The company issuing USDT is among the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds, so the peg to the dollar and the U.S. debt market does not disappear anywhere. The technology has changed, but the dependence remains — and the main question now is not how the blockchain works, but who controls the token's circulation infrastructure.
What this means for the Russian market
The warning came amid a rapid decline in USDT supply. The capitalization of the largest stablecoin fell at a record pace in early August, and analysts linked this outflow to investors fleeing risky assets. Fradkov, promoting an alternative — the ruble stablecoin A7A5 — noted that the token's turnover has reached nearly $140 billion since launch, and the A7 platform processes up to 2,000 payments per day.
The system's regular clients include 15,000 companies of various sizes, from large exporters to small businesses and individuals. Through A7, private users pay for vacations, medical treatment, and education abroad. The position of the PSB representative aligns with the authorities' stance: Russian regulators this summer called foreign issuers a vulnerable link precisely because of the possibility of the U.S. influencing coin creators and freezing holders' assets.
At the same time, the state has not completely closed access to dollar tokens. From September 1, 2026, qualified investors will gain a legal opportunity to buy USDT and USDC through domestic licensed platforms, and companies will be able to use them in foreign trade settlements.
My view: Fradkov's statements are not just a warning, but a signal of a fundamental shift in the perception of stablecoins. USDT has long ceased to be a "crypto asset" in its pure form — it is rather a digital dollar with centralized management. For Russian businesses that actively used USDT to circumvent sanctions, this is an existential risk. The development of ruble stablecoins is a logical response, but the question is whether A7A5 can offer comparable liquidity and market trust that USDT has built over the years.