Tron, Tether and Chainalysis Team Up to Fight AI-Powered…
Tron, Tether and Chainalysis have launched the Digital Crime Task Force, a joint effort to find and disrupt illicit activity involving Tether’s USDT on the Tron blockchain as criminals turn to artificial intelligence, according to The Block.
The three companies plan to pool intelligence and work with law enforcement so authorities can freeze stolen assets before criminals move them, a statement shared with The Block said. The aim is to shorten the gap between detecting a threat and acting on it. Tron founder Justin Sun said millions of people use Tether USDT on Tron to support their families and run their businesses, and that protections must expand as digital finance reaches more users.
Why the Task Force Arrives Now
The launch follows the collapse of the T3 Financial Crime Unit, an alliance Tron, Tether and TRM Labs formed in 2024. Bloomberg reported earlier this month, according to The Block, that the group disbanded over slow response times and weak coordination among its members.
Chainalysis, which already monitors USDT transactions for Tether, said in the statement that AI-enabled scams proved 4.5 times more profitable than conventional schemes in 2025, while impersonation scams rose more than 1,400% year over year. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said criminals now use AI to move faster than before, and that
“Criminals are using AI to move faster than ever, and waiting for a victim to report a crime is no longer good enough.”
Tether says it has frozen more than $7 billion linked to illicit activity while working with more than 360 law enforcement agencies across 73 countries. The task force follows the collapse of the T3 Financial Crime Unit, and Chainalysis data showing AI scams were 4.5 times more profitable than conventional schemes adds urgency to faster enforcement.
Investor Takeaway
The task force follows the collapse of the T3 Financial Crime Unit, and Chainalysis data showing AI scams were 4.5 times more profitable than conventional schemes adds urgency to faster enforcement.
What the Task Force Will Target
The group plans to go after investment and romance scams, hacks, terrorist financing and North Korean cyberattacks. Across, a crosschain interoperability protocol, suffered a domain takeover earlier this week before resuming normal operations, and blockchain infrastructure provider Chainstack disclosed an AI-powered breach late last month that exposed customer names, emails and password hashes, The Block reported.
TRM Labs tied the Binance hack, a theft of about $6.36 billion across ten blockchains, to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group with high confidence, and Chainalysis assessed the same group likely carried it out. The attacker also moved about $242 million through Tron, where Tether froze roughly $378.7 million in USDT linked to the attack.
Ardoino said on October 19 that wallet freezes cut Iran-linked USDT activity by 94% and that Tether acted before Chainalysis flagged the addresses in 99% of relevant cases. The claims answered a Senate subcommittee staff report, and Tether has not published the data behind the 94% figure. After the Mercado Bitcoin hack, Chainalysis said it coordinated with law enforcement and token issuers and helped freeze nearly $10 million, including more than $9 million in USDT through Tether.
Investor Takeaway
The group will pursue scams, hacks, terrorist financing and North Korean cyberattacks, and recent cases show Tether freezes on Tron already play a central role in limiting stolen funds.
