Russian Exchange Garantex Halts Services as Tether Freezes $28M in USDT Tokens

Sources indicate that Tether immobilized $28 million in USDT assets held by Garantex, Russia’s digital asset marketplace. The suspension followed the EU’s 16th sanctions package against Russia, unveiled Feb. 26, 2025, which explicitly targets “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” Garantex communicated the situation through Telegram, alerting users to the immediate halt of all services.

“Dear users,” Garantex wrote. “We have bad news. Tether has entered the war against the Russian crypto market and blocked our wallets worth more than 2.5 billion rubles. We are temporarily suspending all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals, while our entire team solves this problem. We are fighting and will not give up.”

The Russian exchange added:

Please note that all USDT in Russian wallets is now under threat. As always, we are the first, but not the last.

Tether’s maneuver reflects adherence to international sanctions, following Garantex’s designation as a sanctioned entity by EU authorities. The exchange’s documented history of scrutiny presumably motivated the freeze, consistent with Tether’s established protocol of complying with regulatory and law enforcement directives—a pattern observed in prior cases involving assets linked to illicit endeavors.

Tether has remained publicly silent, issuing no formal remarks directly acknowledging this specific freeze. The firm’s capacity to immobilize assets derives from its centralized architecture, with an operational framework enabling it to “refuse registration to, bar transactions from or to, or to suspend or terminate the administration of Services” for any reason.

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