Garantex

Shut Down

Exchange · born 2019 · ✝ 2025

Russia's favourite dirty crypto laundry — seized by global law enforcement.

Garantex was a Moscow-linked crypto exchange sanctioned by OFAC in 2022 for facilitating ransomware, darknet markets, and sanctions evasion. In March 2025 international agencies seized its domain after Tether froze $28M in USDT on the platform.

Peak: $100B+ in illicit volume (lifetime)
Cause: Shut Down
Year of death: 2025

☠️ Cause of death

Coordinated action by Europol, the FBI, and partner agencies took down Garantex's infrastructure. The exchange had processed ~82% of worldwide sanctioned-entity crypto volume, making it the highest-risk venue in crypto compliance.

📓 Lessons left behind

—Sanctions without enforcement are suggestions.
—Exchanges that serve ransomware crews eventually run out of domains.
—On-chain transparency outlasts offshore incorporation.

🌱 The idea that survived

Compliance-native exchanges

Legitimate venues invested in TRM/Chainalysis screening as Garantex proved the cost of skipping KYC is eventually existential.

#exchange#sanctions#ransomware#law-enforcement