Key Takeaways:

• Tron, Tether, and TRM Labs’ T3 Financial Crime Unit has frozen over $250 million in illicit crypto assets.
  
• Binance joins as the first partner under the new T3+ program to expand real-time threat response.
  
• Global Ledger reports $3 billion stolen in H1 2025, with some hacks laundering funds in under three minutes.
  
• Only 4.2% of stolen funds were recovered in the first half of 2025.
  
• Debate continues over the role of stablecoin issuers in freezing funds and its impact on decentralization.
  

Binance Joins $250M Crypto Crime Unit to Combat Blockchain Threats

Tron, Tether, and TRM Labs have announced that their joint T3 Financial Crime Unit has intercepted more than $250 million in illicit cryptocurrency since launching less than a year ago. Now, the initiative is expanding with Binance joining as the first member of its new T3+ program.

Launched in September 2024, the T3 Financial Crime Unit is a public-private collaboration aimed at tracking and disrupting illicit blockchain transactions. The $250 million seized is more than double the amount reported in the first six months after launch, when over $100 million in illicit funds were recovered.

Working with law enforcement agencies around the world, the unit has tackled cases involving money laundering, investment fraud, blackmail schemes, terrorism financing, and other forms of crypto-related financial crime.

The newly introduced T3+ program extends the framework by recruiting exchanges, financial institutions, and other industry stakeholders to share intelligence and respond to threats in real time. Tron founder Justin Sun said the expansion will broaden cooperation across the blockchain industry to address illicit activity as it happens.

Crypto Hacks Are Getting Faster and Harder to Stop

Data from Swiss blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger shows that over $3 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen during the first half of 2025. The report highlights an alarming acceleration in the speed of attacks. In the fastest cases, hackers laundered stolen funds in under three minutes. About 30% of laundering was completed within 24 hours, and in 23% of cases, the stolen crypto was fully laundered before the breach was publicly disclosed.

The average time for moving funds after a breach was approximately 15 hours. With such speed, only 4.2% of stolen funds were recovered in the first half of the year. Roughly 15% of illicit crypto transactions flowed through centralized exchanges, where compliance teams typically have only 10 to 15 minutes to intercept suspicious transfers before the assets vanish.

Many of these attacks have been linked to state-sponsored hacking groups, transnational cybercrime syndicates, and overseas fraud networks. The international scope of these operations makes enforcement and recovery challenging. A recent example involved a group of hackers claiming to have infiltrated a major North Korean cyber-espionage program, revealing tactics used to target cryptocurrency platforms globally.

The growth of T3 FCU and the addition of Binance comes amid increasing debate over the role of centralized entities in freezing stolen funds. Last month, Tether froze nearly $86,000 in stolen USDT, sparking discussion over the balance between user sovereignty and security. Because stablecoin issuers can halt transactions at the smart contract level, they hold a rare power in crypto to block illicit transfers. Critics argue that this undermines decentralization, while supporters see it as an essential defense against crime.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that bad actors have nowhere to hide on the blockchain and that only through industry-wide collaboration can a safer, more trusted environment be created for users.

With Binance now on board, the T3+ program could become one of the most coordinated anti-crypto crime initiatives in the industry, aiming to intercept more stolen funds before they disappear into untraceable channels.