Tether has taken a significant step by freezing $27 million worth of USDt on the Russian crypto exchange Garantex, which has led to the platform halting its operations.
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Garantex shared the news on March 6 through its Telegram channel, stating that the frozen funds amount to over 2.5 billion rubles. As a result, the exchange temporarily suspended all services, including withdrawals, while its website undergoes maintenance.
This action comes shortly after the European Union sanctioned Garantex as part of a broader set of sanctions against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, announced on February 26. Garantex warned its users that all USDT held in Russian wallets is now at risk, emphasizing its commitment to fight these measures.
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The EU’s sanctions follow similar actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which had already imposed restrictions on Garantex in April 2022. Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange established in late 2019, was originally registered in Estonia but largely operates out of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
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Despite being excluded from major crypto data platforms, Garantex’s trading volumes have reportedly surged by over 1,000% in the last three years, reaching $121.6 million in daily volume in early March 2025.
While Tether’s action may not significantly impact the global crypto market, it has drawn attention in Russia, where local lawmakers suggest that the freeze could be the first of many Western pressures on the crypto industry. However, they also argue that completely blocking the Russian crypto market remains unfeasible.
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Alexander Stefanov
