Tether's Offshore Bank Just Froze Its Funds — Should USDT Holders Worry?
Sep 25, 2026
Some of Tether's reserves are stuck at an offshore bank facing liquidation after a US asset seizure. Here's why the company says it's not a big deal.
Tether, the company behind the world's biggest stablecoin, has some of its money stuck at an offshore banking partner that's now in serious trouble.
The EQIBank situation
According to a report from The Information, Tether has funds parked at EQIBank, an offshore digital bank that's facing liquidation risk after US authorities seized assets tied to one of its payment channels. The bank reportedly relied on a partner called Capstone, which allegedly misrepresented itself to US banks, and now EQIBank is fighting to recover around $90 million that was seized.
How worried should you be
Tether was quick to respond, saying the exposure at EQIBank is less than 0.034% of its total reserves, or under $64 million based on its latest reserve report. That's a tiny slice of a very large pie, so it's unlikely to cause any real stress for USDT. Still, it's a reminder that stablecoins depend on traditional banking relationships behind the scenes, and those relationships can get messy fast.