ZachXBT releases "Circle Inaction Archives": Slow Action to Freeze USDC in Multiple Major Security Incidents

Chain detective ZachXBT published the "Circle Inaction File" on the X platform, accusing Circle of potential over $420 million in compliance enforcement failures since 2022. According to his disclosure, stablecoin issuer Circle failed to promptly freeze funds involved in multiple major security incidents, including those involving Drift Protocol (April 2026, $280 million loss), SwapNet (January 2026, $16 million loss), and Cetus Protocol (May 2025, $223 million loss). Similar delays or failures to freeze funds were also found in incidents involving Mango Markets, Nomad Bridge, the Ledger supply chain attack, and GMX. In contrast, peers such as Tether and Paxos responded faster in some cases. ZachXBT pointed out that although Circle has the functions of freezing and blacklisting and is regulated by the United States, it still reacted slowly to many law enforcement and industry requests, resulting in a large amount of funds being lost. He emphasized that the relevant statistics only cover publicly disclosed major events, and the actual scale may be higher. He also questioned the actual service targets of Circle in compliance enforcement.