The post Circle’s 16‑wallet USDC freeze revives centralization and blacklist debate appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Circle froze USDC in 16 business wallets tied to a sealed U.S. civil case, drawing fire from ZachXBT and reigniting fears over centralized stablecoin censorship and control. Summary Circle froze USDC balances in 16 business hot wallets linked to exchanges, casinos and forex platforms, citing a sealed U.S. civil case. On-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly questioned Circle’s decision-making and consistency, highlighting the absence of clear links between the targeted addresses. The move reignites long‑running concerns over censorship and control in centralized stablecoins such as USDC, even as adoption in institutional markets accelerates. Circle froze the USDC balances of 16 business hot wallets late Monday, disrupting operations at several exchanges, casinos and forex platforms and raising urgent questions over how centralized stablecoins exercise their power to block funds. According to PANews, affected firms said the freeze stemmed from “a U.S. civil case whose details have not yet been disclosed,” leaving counterparties guessing why they had been targeted and when, if ever, access might be restored. 1/ Meet Aleksandr (Aleks) Khinkis, a Russian OTC broker who has allegedly helped a ransomware group launder $4.7M+ via a single crypto exchange account since July 2025, across three suspected ransom payments totaling 796 BTC. pic.twitter.com/GpOjAvtaAd — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 24, 2026 On-chain investigator ZachXBT, who first amplified the issue in a post on X, asked bluntly: “How come Circle froze the USDC balance of 16 unrelated hot wallets late yesterday for a civil case? A basic review of onchain activity makes this look incredibly broad.” In follow‑up comments reported by regional media, he noted that the wallets “appear to belong to exchanges, casinos, and forex platforms, with no apparent connection between them,” yet all were blacklisted in a single action that “has already impacted the operations of these businesses.” The incident lands just weeks after ZachXBT…

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Filed under: News - @ March 24, 2026 7:31 pm