The USDC and USDT blacklist and freeze functions
The functions as they exist in the deployed contracts, what each one does, and how often each has been used, from our records.
Checked against our records on . Free to read, no account.
Where these functions live
Circle and Tether publish USDC and USDT as contracts, one per blockchain. The functions that block, unblock and destroy are part of those contracts, written in at deployment. Anyone can read them on the blockchain; they are not hidden switches.
The contracts restrict who may call these functions to addresses the issuer controls. So every event in our records is an action the issuer itself executed, in a transaction anyone can look up.
Tether's USDT: three functions
The USDT contract as deployed on Ethereum exposes addBlackList(address), removeBlackList(address) and destroyBlackFunds(address), plus two read functions — isBlackListed(address) and getBlackListStatus(address) — that answer true or false for any address. We verified the deployed functions directly against the contract on 20 August 2026.
addBlackList stops the address from sending USDT. removeBlackList reverses it. destroyBlackFunds erases a blocked balance and reduces the total supply by the same amount. That is the difference between money that is stuck and money that is gone.
In our records, 14,880 USDT events were written by these functions, and 2,321 of them destroyed the balance rather than only locking it, as of 26 August 2026.
One behavior detail is widely misread: the USDT block stops sending only, so USDT can still arrive at a blocked address, and it is then stuck there. Our guide on how Tether freezes wallets covers this in full.
Circle's USDC: blacklist, unBlacklist, and no destroy function
The USDC contract as deployed on Ethereum exposes blacklist(address), unBlacklist(address) and the read function isBlacklisted(address). A blacklisted address is blocked in both directions: it can neither send nor receive USDC while listed.
What the contract does not have is a function that destroys a blacklisted balance. We checked the deployed contract for one on 20 August 2026 and found none.
The record agrees with the code: of the 7,391 USDC restriction events we have recorded, none destroyed a balance, as of 26 August 2026. Blacklisted USDC has either stayed in place or been unblacklisted later.
The wipe function belongs to Paxos, not Circle
Searches often ask for a USDC wipeBlacklistedAccount function. On the contracts we checked on 20 August 2026, the wipe-style function is wipeFrozenAddress(address), and it lives on the tokens Paxos issues — USDP, PYUSD, PAXG, and the retired BUSD — next to freeze(address), unfreeze(address) and the read function isFrozen(address).
A Paxos wipe does not log the destroyed amount in the event it emits. Where an amount matters, we measure the balance at the block before the wipe and publish that measured figure with its basis stated.
Reading the functions yourself
Every contract claim above is checkable without trusting us. The read functions answer for any address: isBlackListed on USDT, isBlacklisted on USDC, isFrozen on a Paxos token. Any tool that can read a contract can call them.
What a read function cannot give you is history — when an address was listed, in which transaction, and whether a balance was destroyed. That is what this site records: 43,107 events across 17 blockchains and 56 tokens, each citing the transaction that executed it.
Other issuers use other names
The same two jobs — block an address, destroy a balance — appear under different names across the tokens we track. Circle-style contracts emit Blacklisted and UnBlacklisted. Paxos-style contracts emit AddressFrozen, FreezeAddress and FrozenAddressWiped. Others use Ban and Unban, Blocked and Unblocked, or a single SetBlacklistStatus that flips both ways. Our records normalize all of them, so one check reads the same everywhere.
Questions people ask
Can Circle destroy the USDC in a blacklisted wallet?
The USDC contract as deployed on Ethereum has no function that destroys a balance — we checked the deployed contract on 20 August 2026. In our records, none of the 7,391 USDC restriction events destroyed a balance, as of 26 August 2026.
Which function does Tether use to blacklist a wallet?
addBlackList(address). When it runs, the contract emits an AddedBlackList event, which is what our record cites. removeBlackList(address) reverses it, and destroyBlackFunds(address) destroys a blocked balance.
Is wipeBlacklistedAccount a USDC function?
Not on the contract we checked on 20 August 2026. The wipe-style function we found is wipeFrozenAddress(address), on Paxos-issued tokens such as USDP, PYUSD and PAXG.
How do I check whether an address is blacklisted right now?
The contracts answer directly through their read functions — isBlackListed(address) on USDT, isBlacklisted(address) on USDC. Or paste the address into the box on our home page: one free check covers 56 tokens across 17 blockchains and shows the history, not just the current answer.
Do these functions work the same on every blockchain?
Each blockchain has its own deployment with its own list, and a listing on one chain does not list the same address on another. The function names above are from the Ethereum deployments. Our record tracks each chain separately.