Circle said it froze about $1.1B in USDC tied to the Binance hack in coordination with law enforcement, and backed a legal safe harbor for asset freezes.
Key Facts
Circle said it froze approximately $1.1 billion in USDC associated with the Binance incident, in coordination with law enforcement.
The company said it freezes a USDC address when law enforcement obtains a valid court order, and that ownership and forfeiture decisions belong to law enforcement and the courts.
Circle urged law enforcement agencies to deepen real-time coordination on digital asset incidents and said a legal safe harbor and clear steps for freezing and seizing crypto assets can keep systems open.
Circle said it has frozen about $1.1 billion in USDC (USDC) tied to the Binance hack in coordination with law enforcement.
The figure came in a blog post on Thursday by Dante Disparte, Circle's chief strategy officer and head of global policy and operations, who said the company continues to work with partners to identify affected funds.
"Circle froze approximately $1.1 billion in USDC associated with the incident in coordination with law enforcement," Disparte wrote in the post.
Circle said it froze about $1.1 billion in USDC tied to the Binance hack. Source: CoinMarketCap
How Circle Says Freezes Work
When law enforcement obtains a valid court order to freeze a USDC wallet address, Circle freezes that address, preventing the stablecoin from moving in or out, Disparte said.
"Circle does not decide who owns the assets, whether USDC should be frozen or subject to forfeiture proceedings, or whether a crime occurred; those determinations belong to law enforcement and the courts," he wrote.
He said the response showed that transaction activity on open blockchains "can be analyzed and, in many cases, traced by law enforcement," allowing exchanges, stablecoin issuers, analytics firms, custodians and investigators to coordinate.
Circle's Call for a Safe Harbor
Disparte urged law enforcement agencies to deepen real-time coordination on digital asset incidents, and regulators to develop clear frameworks that let firms act quickly on credible threats while preserving due process and the rule of law.
Disparte said a legal safe harbor, harmonized threat information sharing and clear, legally bounded steps for freezing and seizing crypto assets "can keep systems open, market participants safe, and bad actors on the run."
He also said market participants must treat cybersecurity and incident response as shared responsibilities in the wake of the hack, adding that no single organization "can see the entire threat landscape."
Circle had frozen more than 800 million USDC by Oct. 30, alongside freezes by Tether, Ripple and others, CoinMarketCap reported. Binance has restored 95% of losses as withdrawals resume in phases.
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