- Tether froze over $28 million in Garantex wallets, leading the Russian crypto exchange to halt trading and withdrawals.
- Garantex, under EU sanctions, was blocked by Tether as authorities target crypto platforms linked to financial crime.
Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, was met with a significant shock after Tether froze over $27 million in USDT. The move caused the approved platform to stop all trading and withdrawals, among other activities. Users who had been depending on Garantex to convert rubles for digital currency felt the effect broadly.
There is an ongoing incident with Tether freezing the whole USDT stack of the Russian-based exchange Garantex.
The exchange was blocked after multiple sanctions were imposed on it. pic.twitter.com/sK60cDzmSb
— Vladimir S. | Officer’s Notes (@officer_cia) March 6, 2025
Cracking Down: Tether Freezes Funds Linked to Sanctions and Hacks
Tether decided only a few days after the European Union included Garantex on its 16th sanctions list. The European authorities charged the platform with tight relationships with approved Russian banks and assisting in the avoidance of financial transactions meant to be prohibited. Tether seems to be monitoring dubious fund transfers more closely with this move.
Apart from freezing Garantex’s funds, Tether has also frozen 181,000 USDT linked to the Bybit hack, as we previously reported. The decision shows that the company is using its stablecoin to rapidly stop illicit transactions.
Law Enforcement Operations and Infrastructure Shutdowns
Apart from the Tether ruling, the law enforcement actions directed against Garantex are also growing. Apparently, the US Secret Service has taken online equipment connected to the exchange into custody. Garantex itself has a bad name for being utilized by Russian ransomware gangs and other hackers to hide their illegal income.
Established in Moscow in 2019, Garantex is well-known among Russian users seeking to convert rubles into crypto assets, particularly in view of tighter economic sanctions against their nation. The future of the platform is becoming more hazy with Tether’s blockade, particularly as governments all around start focusing on exchanges thought to be breaching world banking rules.
Tether Appoints New CFO, Moves Toward Full Audit
Tether is also changing internally while it is aggressively freezing assets on platforms thought to be engaged in criminal conduct. As previously mentioned in our report, Simon McWilliams was recently appointed by the company as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), succeeding Giancarlo Devasini, who has lately shifted to serve as the chairman.
Having more than two decades of expertise in investing and financial audits, McWilliams is likely to push Tether closer to a comprehensive audit—a much-needed development in the cryptocurrency sector to boost openness.
Legal Dispute with Swan Bitcoin
However, Tether has not had an entirely smooth journey. The corporation failed to get a court ruling stopping Swan Bitcoin from suing six of its former California employees. The conflict results from Tether and Swan Bitcoin’s failing joint venture on a mining operation named 2040 Energy.
Tether worried that the California case may provide Swan access to its intellectual property, which might subsequently be sold for profit. Regretfully for Tether, a court in London turned down their demand to halt US legal proceedings.
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