FreezeCheck
USDT blocked by an exchange or frozen by Tether: how to tell
Updated
These are two different blocks, and each has its own place to write to. Tether freezes an address on the network itself: the balance shows in your wallet but a transfer fails. An exchange blocks an account on its own side: on-chain everything is fine, yet withdrawals are closed. The check takes a minute.
The one-minute check
- Paste the address into the form above. The check shows whether it is frozen.
- Or check it yourself. Open the USDT contract on Tronscan, Read Contract, method
isBlackListed, and paste the address.truemeans a Tether freeze,falsemeans none.
Check the address you are trying to send from. If your USDT sits on an exchange, you have no address of your own on the network: the money is held in the exchange's pooled wallets, and a block is always the exchange's decision.
How they differ
| Tether freeze | Exchange block | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the money is | In your own wallet (TronLink, Trust Wallet, Ledger) | On an exchange account |
| What you see | Balance in place, transfer rejected by the network | Withdrawals or the whole account closed, a message from support |
| Visible on-chain | Yes: an event in the USDT contract | No: it is the exchange's internal record |
| What is blocked | All USDT on the address; TRX and other tokens stay free | Whatever the exchange decides: one amount, withdrawals or the account |
| Who can lift it | Only Tether | Only the exchange |
| Where to write | The cs.tether.to form | Exchange support |
If it is Tether
- What to do: 7 steps after a freeze.
- How to write the request: how to contact Tether.
- What to expect: odds and timing of an unfreeze.
If it is the exchange
Most often an exchange blocks an account after a deposit its system rated as risky: the money came from an address linked to scams, sanctions or other freezes. Less often it follows an agency request or a P2P counterparty's complaint.
- Reply only through official support and within the deadline it gave.
- You will usually be asked to prove the source of funds: who the sender is, what the payment was for, chats and documents for the deal.
- Show where the money came from. Send the sender's address to @freezecheck_bot: the report shows which addresses it is linked to.
- The full routine: exchange blocked your account over dirty USDT.
The third case: neither
The address is not blacklisted, no exchange is involved, and the transfer still fails. Usually there is not enough TRX or energy for the fee, or the wallet's signing permissions were changed. Step by step: can't send USDT.
Questions and answers
Can an exchange freeze USDT in my personal wallet?
No. An exchange controls only its own accounts. Only Tether can freeze an address on the network. An exchange can trace a stolen transfer and turn to Tether though, and that is one way freezes happen.
Can Tether freeze money held on an exchange?
Tether freezes addresses on the network, not accounts inside an exchange. An exchange keeps client money in pooled wallets, and it is the exchange that closes access to a particular account.
The exchange says my USDT is "high risk". Is that a freeze?
No, it is the exchange's own rating. It may return the transfer, ask for documents or block the account. To stay out of this, check the sender's address before the deal.
How can I tell in advance that a transfer will trigger a block?
Check the sender's address before you hand over goods or cash. The FreezeCheck model is trained on real Tether freezes: on wallets frozen after training, the bot had already shown 🟡 or 🔴 in 82% of cases (blind test on October freezes).
See also: why USDT gets frozen, Tether blacklist, check a wallet before a deal.