US bank accounts held $83 million of the $84.2 million DOJ seeks from a Tether-linked processor

Wells Fargo accounts in Capstone's name held $80.97 million of the total, and $79.11 million of that came from a single Wells Fargo Securities account on September 14 ^[3][14]. Add $2.06 million at JPMorgan Chase and the bank share comes to $83.03 million, or 98.6% of the $84.2 million sought ^[12]. The two USDT wallets held about 1.3% ^[13]. Prosecutors allege Capstone moved money in at least six states without a money-transmitter licence while telling banks it was an IT services company ^[2].

The narrowest reading of that concentration is that a processor directed by the bank that handled Tether's USDT purchase and redemption wires ^[8][5] would hold its float in dollars most of the time. A broader reading is that US enforcement against stablecoin activity is running through the fiat leg, where licences and bank accounts are subject to US courts. The third is that one complaint proves nothing about a trend. I think the first two are both right, within the limit the third sets: this filing reached USDT activity almost entirely through Wells Fargo and JPMorgan ^[12], and it is one filing. Later cases in which prosecutors seize stablecoin balances at scale would undercut the broader reading. In this one, the wallets yielded about $1.1 million ^[3].

On Tether's books the sum is small. The issuer reported $187.75 billion of assets at the end of the second quarter, $4.11 billion more than its liabilities, and $1.5 billion of net operating profit for the quarter ^[9]. The full $84.2 million is about 5.6% of that quarter's profit and 2% of the buffer ^[15]. EQIBank is at the other end of the scale. The bank has warned that losing the funds, roughly 80% of everything it holds, could push it into liquidation ^[8]. If that 80% refers to the whole $84.2 million, the bank holds about $105 million in total ^[17].

Tether's own figure leaves a gap. A spokesperson put the group's exposure at under 0.034% of assets ^[6]. Applied to $187.75 billion, that ceiling is about $63.8 million, roughly three-quarters of the government's claim ^[16]. Either the group's asset base is larger than the attested figure, or Tether does not count all of the seized money as its exposure. The statement did not say which.

Tether said it had "no knowledge of the conduct by Capstone alleged by the Department of Justice" ^[5]. An attorney for Capstone's owners, Kotaro Shimogori and Mary Jeanne Thompson, said the company "denies any wrongdoing" and hopes to "resolve this matter quickly," according to the Financial Times ^[4]. Civil forfeiture lets the government keep funds tied to an alleged crime without convicting their owner ^[7]. Under Supplemental Rule G, a claimant has 21 days to answer the complaint once a formal claim is filed ^[11].