Coinbase Helps Recover $225 Million in USDT from Pig Butchering Scams

Coinbase has played a pivotal role in one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in US law enforcement history, collaborating with the US Secret Service to recover $225 million in USDT stolen through pig butchering scams. These scams have devastated hundreds of victims worldwide. The operation began with Tether freezing 39 suspicious wallet addresses in late 2023, leading to a multi-day investigative effort where Coinbase analysts worked alongside Secret Service agents to trace millions in crypto transactions back to illicit wallets and identify over 130 defrauded customers.

The successful collaboration marks a significant milestone in combating sophisticated international fraud networks, which cost American victims over $9.3 billion in 2024 alone. The Secret Service traced the frozen USDT to 140 accounts on the OKX exchange, many of which were held in the names of trafficking victims coerced into participating in the scam operations under threat of violence. These pig butchering schemes typically begin with fake romantic or business relationships cultivated over months before manipulating victims into transferring life savings to crypto wallets controlled by criminal syndicates.

These operations often originate from retrofitted casinos and hotels in Southeast Asia, particularly in areas controlled by groups like the recently sanctioned Karen National Army (KNA). The KNA’s territory in Burma’s Karen State serves as a hub where trafficked individuals are forced to work in scam compounds, creating fake online identities and posing as romantic interests or financial advisors to lure American victims into crypto investment schemes. Victims are gradually introduced to fake trading platforms displaying fabricated profits designed to encourage larger investments. Scammers often provide small initial returns to build credibility before requesting substantial transfers that disappear once the emotional and financial hooks are deeply set.

The global scale of these operations is evident through statistics showing pig butchering losses escalated from $2 billion in 2022 to $3.5 billion in 2023, with 2024 marking another record year at $3.6 billion. The criminal infrastructure supporting these scams reveals startling organizational complexity. Among them is the recently dismantled Huione Group, a primary money laundering network that processes billions in stolen cryptocurrency while maintaining connections to North Korean hackers and regional crime syndicates.

Coinbase’s forensic capabilities enabled investigators to trace the complex transactions connecting stolen funds through multiple exchanges and wallet addresses. The technical process of fund recovery also involved direct cooperation between Tether and law enforcement. The stablecoin issuer burned the original $225 million in frozen USDT and reissued equivalent tokens to a Secret Service-controlled wallet for victim distribution. This “burn and reissue” mechanism provided real-time transparency visible on-chain. The collaboration also extended beyond Coinbase to include OKX and other unnamed exchanges.

The collaborative effort has launched a victim restitution process through the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. The affected individuals can submit claims using reference code “BT06182025” and transaction history proving they sent funds to scam-related addresses. While law enforcement successes demonstrate significant progress in combating crypto crime, investors must recognize that personal vigilance and security best practices remain the most effective defense. Navin Gupta, CEO of blockchain analytics firm Crystal, recently noted that assuming every unsolicited message is a potential attack could filter out 80% of threat vectors.

The crypto space’s unique characteristics, including transaction irreversibility and the absence of traditional financial intermediaries, demand a fundamentally different security mindset from users. Investors should implement hardware security keys instead of SMS-based two-factor authentication, establish separate devices and email addresses for financial operations, and practice deliberate verification of urgent or exclusive investment opportunities. Most importantly, the speed of crypto transactions means there’s rarely time for second chances. The few minutes spent verifying a suspicious request could prevent the loss of life savings that no amount of law enforcement recovery efforts can guarantee to return.