Tether Freezes Garantex Accounts Worth Approximately $28 Million: What’s Happening?

The cryptocurrency exchange Garantex is facing serious restrictions as Tether has frozen its wallets, blocking access to more than 2,5 Bln rubles ($28 million). In response, the exchange has announced a temporary suspension of all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals, while its team works on resolving the issue.

“We are fighting and will not give up!” the Garantex team stated, emphasizing that Tether’s actions threaten the entire Russian crypto market and that USDT on Russian wallets is now at risk of being blocked.

This move marks yet another blow to Garantex, which has previously been targeted by sanctions. In April 2022, the exchange was blacklisted by the U.S., followed by the EU adding it to its sanctions list in February 2025 for alleged “ties to Russian banks.” Despite these restrictions, Garantex assured its users at the time that all services would remain fully operational.

The latest restrictions imposed by Tether cast doubt on the future operations of Garantex. However, the exchange’s team insists that they are doing everything possible to navigate this crisis.