ZachXBT criticizes Circle's freeze operation for lack of transparency

According to TheBlock,"Chain Detective" ZachXBT revealed that Circle has unfrozen 1 of the 16 USDC wallets previously blacklisted. The wallet address is 0x61f... e543, is related to Goated.com and currently holds approximately 130,966 USDC. ZachXBT said the remaining affected wallets are expected to recover in the near future. The thaw came after strong criticism from outside. It was previously reported that Circle froze USDC balances in 16 hot wallets related to different businesses. ZachXBT said the move was related to an undisclosed U.S. civil case and the case was confidential. ZachXBT severely criticized the freezing action, saying that the relevant parties did not provide any basis for the freezing and said it was one of the most incompetent freezing operations it has seen in its five years in the industry. TaylorMonahan, a security researcher at MetaMask, also posted on social media criticizing Circle for its lack of accountability mechanisms. Currently, Circle has not issued a public statement on the specific wallets mentioned above or the legal basis for the freezing.