TechFlow News, March 26: According to The Block, “on-chain investigator” ZachXBT revealed that Circle has unfrozen one of the 16 USDC wallets previously blacklisted. The unfrozen wallet address is 0x61f…e543, associated with Goated.com, and currently holds approximately 130,966 USDC. ZachXBT stated that the remaining affected wallets are expected to be restored “in the near future.”
This unfreezing follows intense external criticism. Earlier reports indicated that Circle froze USDC balances held in 16 hot wallets linked to various businesses. ZachXBT claimed this action relates to an undisclosed U.S. civil case currently under seal.
ZachXBT strongly criticized the freezing operation, noting that no justification for the freezes was provided by the involved parties and calling it “one of the most incompetent freeze operations” he has witnessed in his five years of experience. Taylor Monahan, a security researcher at MetaMask, also criticized Circle on social media for its lack of accountability.
As of now, Circle has not issued any public statement regarding the specific wallets mentioned above or the legal basis for the freezes.
