Tether freezes $131M in USDT linked to Iran's IRGC; U.S. and U.K. align stablecoin rules; Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE launches crypto spot trading; DTCC begins tokenized RWA pilot.
DeFi & Yields ·
Tether froze $131 million in USDT that was connected to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to reporting on the action. The move reflects compliance pressure on stablecoin issuers to enforce sanctions screening and counter illicit finance flows through digital assets.
In parallel regulatory development, the United States and United Kingdom moved to align their approaches to stablecoin oversight, signaling coordination on standards for reserve backing and operational resilience. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE platform launched spot trading in cryptocurrencies, expanding retail access to direct asset ownership rather than derivatives exposure. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation also initiated a pilot program for tokenized real-world assets, testing settlement infrastructure for non-crypto collateral on blockchain networks.
The developments arrive amid reports of significant workforce reductions across cryptocurrency media outlets, though details on the scale and specific entities affected remain limited in available accounts.