Circle Reverses USDC Wallet Freeze After Community Backlash, One Address Restored
Circle has intervened to unfreeze a blacklisted USDC wallet holding $130,966 after blockchain investigator ZachXBT exposed the action. The reversal followed public scrutiny over Circle's decision to freeze 16 operational wallets tied to exchanges, casinos, and payment processors under a sealed New York civil court order.
"The crypto community needs answers about why this overreach occurred," ZachXBT posted on social media platform X. The restored wallet belongs to Goated.com, while the others remain frozen as of March 26. Circle cited compliance with the court order but did not clarify the selection criteria for the affected addresses.
Market observers note the incident highlights the centralized risks inherent in current stablecoin governance. USDC's issuer retains blacklisting authority—a feature often criticized but which, in this case, demonstrated the potential for reversible action under sufficient public and market pressure.