$120 Million USDT Transfers Trigger Monero Surge as Tether Freezes Linked Funds

A series of large crypto transactions involving more than $120 million in USDT has drawn attention across the digital asset market after unusual trading activity caused a sharp rise in Monero prices. The movement of funds involved multiple blockchains, exchanges and swap services, raising questions about the source of the money.

Massive USDT Transfers Move Across Crypto Networks

According to ZachXBT  data, an address received approximately $120.2 million in USDT on the Tron network before splitting the funds into several transactions. Portions of the funds were moved through different platforms and blockchain networks in a pattern commonly associated with efforts to obscure transaction trails.

A significant amount was converted into Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency designed to hide sender and receiver information. The large purchases helped push Monero’s price from around $330 to above $420 during the trading session. The token later reached an intraday high near $438 before settling lower.

Funds Routed Through Exchanges and Swap Services

Investigators traced more than $12 million to deposit addresses connected to KuCoin, while roughly $8 million was sent through instant crypto swap services. Another $8 million was transferred from the Tron network to Bitcoin and Ethereum through cross-chain swap tools.

Tether Freezes $72 Million in USDT

Tether later blacklisted an address linked to the activity containing approximately $72 million in USDT, preventing further transfers. While the original source of the funds remains unknown, the movement pattern and subsequent freeze have fueled speculation that authorities and blockchain investigators may be examining the transactions more closely.