# Seizure

Taking frozen stablecoin value away from the holder, for example on an authority's order, or under the issuer's terms (e.g. destroying a blacklisted balance).

Canonical: https://achivx.org/glossary/seizure/
Updated: 2026-11-01

A seizure goes beyond a freeze: the value is taken away from the holder, for example on an authority's order, or under the issuer's terms. Tether's terms say it may seize and deliver a user's property to government or law enforcement authorities. In USDT's Ethereum contract, destroyBlackFunds sets a blacklisted address's balance to zero and lowers total supply. The GENIUS Act's 'lawful order' can require an issuer to seize, freeze, burn or prevent transfers of its payment stablecoins.

## What the sources say

| Source | Quote | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Tether terms: seize and deliver | "Tether may, at its sole and absolute discretion, seize and deliver your property to any applicable Government, law enforcement, or other authorities where circumstances warrant or in accordance with Laws." | [tether.to](https://tether.to/en/legal/) |
| TetherToken source: destroyBlackFunds | "function destroyBlackFunds (address _blackListedUser) public onlyOwner { require(isBlackListed[_blackListedUser]); uint dirtyFunds = balanceOf(_blackListedUser); balances[_blackListedUser] = 0; _totalSupply -= dirtyFunds; DestroyedBlackFunds(_blackListedUser, dirtyFunds); }" | [Etherscan](https://etherscan.io/address/0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7#code) |
| GENIUS Act, sec. 2(16): lawful order | "requires a person to seize, freeze, burn, or prevent the transfer of payment stablecoins issued by the person" | [govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm) |
| Circle USDC terms: legal orders | "Circle may also be required to freeze USDC and/or surrender associated USD held in Segregated Accounts in the event it receives a legal order from a valid government authority" | [circle.com](https://www.circle.com/legal/usdc-terms) |
| FATF Glossary: confiscation (permanent deprivation) | "The term confiscation, which includes forfeiture where applicable, means the permanent deprivation of funds or other assets by order of a competent authority or a court." | [fatf-gafi.org](https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/pages/fatf-glossary.html) |

## Related terms

- [Freeze (address freeze)](/glossary/freeze/)
- [Blacklist (issuer blacklist)](/glossary/blacklist/)
- [Burn](/glossary/burn/)
- [Net issuance](/glossary/net-issuance/)

## See also

- Data: [Stablecoin freezes and seizures by issuer](/data/freezes-and-seizures/)
- Explainer: [What is a seizure, and how is it different from a freeze?](https://achivx.com/academy/how-it-works/what-is-a-seizure.html)
- Review: [revain.org/coins/usdt/](https://revain.org/coins/usdt/)
- Review: [revain.org/coins/usdc/](https://revain.org/coins/usdc/)
- Review: [revain.org/coins/usdtb/](https://revain.org/coins/usdtb/)

Checked against the sources on 2026-11-01.

## revain.org
- https://revain.org/coins/usdt/
- https://revain.org/coins/usdc/
- https://revain.org/coins/usdtb/

## Sources
- https://tether.to/en/legal/
- https://etherscan.io/address/0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7#code
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm
- https://www.circle.com/legal/usdc-terms
- https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/pages/fatf-glossary.html