Garantex has reorganized and restarted operations

Despite the introduction of international sanctions and the confiscation of the trading platform website domain by the US Secret Service Garantex in the .org zone, the crypto exchange has not ceased its operations. According to an investigation by Transparency International — Russia (the organization is recognized as a foreign agent), the exchange transformed into a branched decentralized network, continuing to help circumvent sanctions.

After the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control introduced a new law in 2022, Garantex в sanction list for working with darknet markets and extortionists, and in the spring of 2025, US law enforcement officers effectively shut down the platform, seizing the domain, its team rebranded and restarted operations under new names — Grinex, Exved, InDeFi Bank, MKAN Coin.

Connected with Garantex structures continue to operate around the world — in the UAE, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Thailand, Georgia, Hong Kong and Russia. The cornerstone of the system was the Exved payment service, founded by Sergei Mendeleev, one of the architects GarantexIt is positioned as a legal platform for importers and exporters, but in practice it allows you to withdraw funds in Russian banks.

Through Exved, Russian clients transfer rubles to accounts of foreign companies, and they convert them into dollars, yuan or stablecoins, completely excluding any mention of Russia. The investigation showed that the platform is involved in the import of microchips and dual-use telecommunications equipment from China and Taiwan to the Russian Federation, bypassing banking and customs controls.

Blockchain analysis by Chainalysis and Elliptic confirms Exved wallets are linked to sanctioned addresses Garantex Europe. Funds are moved between the successors of the Grinex exchange, MKAN Coin, Sprintex, using classic «layering» for laundering. By April 2025, over 41,7 million USDT had passed through Grinex. This network functions as a single mechanism where transactions are matched and executed through Telegram, ensuring anonymity and evasion from regulators.

Moscow-City remains the network’s operational center. Exved, Paysol, and Fintech Corporation are based here, through which cryptocurrency flows pass. All this clearly demonstrates that cryptocurrencies help Russia bypass sanctions pressure.

History Garantex — this is not just a story about the survival of one exchange, but a clear illustration of how modern financial infrastructure adapts to pressure using technical innovation and decentralization.

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