USDT: The Stablecoin People Trust to Avoid Being Frozen

The Wall Street Journal has described USDT as the financial artery of Venezuela's economy. According to the newspaper, stablecoins make it easier to move money quickly, reduce the risk of funds being blocked, and obscure the ultimate recipients. As a result, a large share of the country's oil revenues in recent years has reportedly flowed through crypto-based schemes.

WSJ made similar claims in the past about Russia as well.

This creates a strange contradiction. On one hand, Tether actively freezes wallets deemed suspicious - just today it became known that another $182 million was frozen. On the other hand, those who are specifically trying to reduce the risk of account freezes continue to rely on Tether's stablecoins.

Why? What pushes them toward this choice? Are there really so few cryptocurrencies that cannot be frozen?

There are, in fact, non-freezable stablecoins as well - well-known ones like DAI, and less prominent options such as LUSD.

If liquidity is the issue, that argument does not really hold up either. On rabbit.io, you can exchange any amount in any cryptocurrency - there are no limits.

Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to attract users who are building shady schemes. I am simply puzzled as to why, in a world where there are many ways to store and transfer value without the risk of freezes, so many people deliberately choose an option where freezes happen on a regular basis.