Cross-border payment company Conduit sues Tether, seeking to unfreeze $2.76 million in USDT and claim damages.

BlockBeats news, October 7 — Cross-border payment company Conduit has filed a lawsuit against Tether in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing the latter of freezing its USDT worth $2.76 million for more than a year without providing a reasonable explanation or releasing the funds. Conduit is demanding that Tether unfreeze the relevant funds and is additionally seeking at least $2.76 million in damages.

Conduit claims that the frozen wallet is equivalent to the company's "operating bank account," and that the freeze stemmed from a Brazilian police investigation into its former client Onix Intermediações. However, Conduit says law enforcement authorities never requested that its funds be frozen, and a Brazilian court also confirmed that Conduit is not under investigation in the case.

Conduit also claims that Onix had not used its platform since April 2025, while the wallet involved was created about a month later and never held Onix's funds. The company says the freezing of the funds has affected its business operations, while Tether can still earn returns from the reserve assets corresponding to the frozen USDT.