Coinspeaker
Mar 26, 2026 upd. 9 Jun

Circle unfreezes one of 16 blacklisted USDC wallets after backlash

1 min

Circle unfreezes one of 16 blacklisted USDC wallets. The move followed public backlash after the March 23 freeze.

On-chain sleuth ZachXBT said Circle froze 16 unrelated hot wallets on March 23, 2026. He called the action “incredibly broad.” Source: ZachXBT on X.

Within days, one wallet was unfrozen. BSCNews flagged the Goated(.)com wallet as restored with 130K+ USDC. Source: BSCNews on X.

Circle reiterated its compliance focus. It did not disclose case details. Company site: Circle.

Why this matters
- A blacklisted address can’t move USDC until removal.
- DeFi integrations can strand liquidity if a counterparty wallet is frozen.
- Civil-case freeze criteria aren’t public, increasing uncertainty for treasuries and protocols.