In early August, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against the Tornado Cash service, which allows anonymous sending of digital currencies. Washington has evidence that this site was used for money laundering.
The capitalization of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) has increased by almost $2 billion since the imposition of sanctions against Tornado Cash. This happened after Circle, as part of its policy of restrictions, blocked USDC addresses associated with Tornado Cash. 44 addresses were blocked.
Fines for non-compliance with the sanctions regime can reach $10 million. The US authorities can also apply imprisonment for those who violate the restrictions.
USDC capitalization, on the contrary, has decreased by $2 billion since the beginning of August. Now the supply of this stablecoin is $53.422 billion, and the total value of USDT exceeds $67.571 billion.
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Observers believe that investors moved their reserves from USDC to USDT worth approximately $1.6 billion.
Representatives of the Tether team have not yet published any official comments.
The issuer of the largest stablecoin has not yet responded to the inclusion of Tornado Cash in the sanctions list. Silence may mean that the company does not intend to adhere to the regime of restrictions.