ZachXBT Accuses Circle of Slow Freezing of Illicit Funds

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has publicly accused Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, of failing to promptly freeze substantial amounts of funds involved in illicit activities. In a detailed thread on X, ZachXBT highlighted 15 specific instances where over $420 million in potentially illegal funds were not frozen by Circle. The most recent example cited involved the Drift Protocol exploit, where approximately $232 million in USDC was bridged across multiple transactions over several hours without any intervention from Circle. Circle responded by stating they freeze assets only when legally mandated, adhering to the rule of law while protecting user rights and privacy.