Tether freezes USDT linked to Ledger user thefts near $90 million

Tether has frozen nearly $90 million in USDT tied to thefts from Ledger hardware wallet users, according to The Defiant. The freeze blocks the stolen funds from moving, but it does not send anything back to the people who lost them.

The incident surfaced on October 9, 2026. It centers on Ledger devices bought from CryptoBilis, an authorized distributor operating in Southeast Asia.

What happened to the Ledger buyers

Estimated losses from the thefts exceed $86 million. Some tracking services put the figure closer to $90 million.

The stolen assets were spread mostly across the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tron networks.

Tether’s response was to block outgoing transfers from the implicated addresses. The money stays put, but nobody gets reimbursed simply because the account is locked.

Ledger says it is investigating. The company has told customers who bought devices in the last three months not to initialize new hardware, and to be careful about moving their assets.

Ledger also urged CryptoBilis to stop all sales and shipments.

A supply chain problem, not a vault problem

The exact cause of the thefts has not been confirmed. Early speculation points to possible tampering somewhere in the supply chain, rather than a flaw in Ledger’s core hardware or systems.

There has been no confirmation of a broader hardware compromise at Ledger. For now, the concern is focused on devices that passed through one distributor.

Why Tether can freeze funds at all

USDT is not like Bitcoin. Tether issues the token and keeps the ability to blacklist addresses, which stops those addresses from sending USDT anywhere.

Over the years, its blacklists have locked up funds tied to thefts and fraud that add up to billions.

In this case, the freeze applies only to the USDT portion of the stolen assets. Bitcoin moving on its own network has no central issuer that can step in, making the Tether action helpful but partial.

What this means for victims, Ledger and stablecoin users

For victims, the freeze is the beginning of a process, not the end of one. Frozen funds generally need some further step, such as legal action or a coordinated return, before they find their way back to rightful owners.

Several questions remain open. Investigators still need to determine how the devices were compromised, whether other distributors are affected, and whether frozen USDT can be routed back to victims.

Until those answers arrive, Ledger’s advice to recent buyers stands: don’t set up new devices, and be careful moving funds.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.