In line with an on-chain evaluation by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, the Russian substitute Garantex with shutters has been rebranded as Grinex.
Garantex processed greater than $100 billion in transactions earlier than it was demolished by worldwide executives in March this 12 months.
Nonetheless, evaluation from the UK-based TRM Lab means that Grinex is redistributing belongings within the type of A7A5, a Stablecoin of Ruble pages that can be utilized on Tron and Ethereum.
Garantex pockets addresses started changing funds to A7A5 Stablecoin in January 2025. Kyrgyz's data present that the corporate behind the previous Vector behind the token was registered on December 13, 2024.
TRM Labs acknowledges that licensed exchanges are liable to being closed, suggesting that the creation of the A7A5 will keep away from sanctions and permit customers to get well belongings that might be misplaced within the occasion of a takedown.
Chain evaluation revealed {that a} large switch involving the A7A5 passed off in January, within the weeks main as much as US-led enforcement motion that dismantled Garantex.
Evidently, TRM cites how Garantex's telegram channel started to advertise Grinex. It’s marketed just some days after Grinex was eliminated as a brand new alternate was registered on Kyrgyzstan on December 23, 2024.
The people concerned in registering Grinex and A7A5 are clearly unknown, and there’s no apparent or formal hyperlink to Garantex.
It seems that Grinex was registered by Duulat-Eldar Sagynbeki Subankulov.
However, the previous vectors have been registered by the fully unknown Tatyana Sergeevna Menshikova.
Nonetheless, within the case of the TRM Lab, the anomaly of those two people provides “one other layer of ambiguity to the origin of Grinex.”
One factor identified is that the Grinex consumer interface has a “spectacular similarity to Garantex”. In the meantime, the platform has really introduced an settlement with a licensed alternate to mount earlier clients and rent staff.
TRM Lab stated it’s detailing the hyperlink between the 2 platforms Decryption “Garantex has a singular on-chain fingerprint, and Grinex makes use of this identical fingerprint.”
Of specific significance is the truth that the intermediate tackle “associated to the switch of funds from Garantex” was used to deposit funds (primarily A7A) into the Grinex consumer tackle.
Along with this, TRM Labs additionally spoke about it. Decryption Garantex co-founder Sergey Mendeleev was “well-known in Grinex's announcement” posted on Telegram.
And it's not simply TRM Labs that believes Grinex is successfully Garantex 2.0, however chain dialysis can be tilting on this path.
“The chain evaluation has been monitoring suspect hyperlinks between Grinex and Garantex, and whereas we aren’t but able to make formal attribution, we’ve seen indicators that Grinex is probably going a Garantex model.” Decryption.
Fierman explains that Chainalysis acquired “a number of experiences” of former Garantex customers who visited Trade's Workplace, the place they have been in a position to switch funds on to Grinex.
“There was additionally a telegram submit from Garantex co-founder (Sergei Mendeleev) speaking in regards to the launch of Grinex and honing the platform's similarities with laughter emojis,” he added.
At its peak, Garantex accounted for 82% of all cryptocurrency volumes related to internationally-authorized entities, however was in a position to course of 70% of such volumes even after it was permitted by OFAC in April 2022.
And for Fearman, its apparent rebirth is as Grinex raises critical questions on whether or not sanctions and shutdowns are 100% efficient at halting unlawful cryptocurrency actions.
“The broader subject right here is that rebranding has turn into a well-recognized tactic for licensed crypto entities. This is a matter we’re intently monitoring,” he stated.
This subject has additionally been highlighted by different TRM Labs analyses. TRMLabs has discovered that two different Russian-related exchanges (along with Grinex) have acquired earlier volumes of Garantex in latest months.
One in every of these is abcex, tied to Sergey Mendelov, is Galantex's third largest on-chain counterparty, and the opposite is the “danger alternate” Lapira.
Each of those platforms witnessed a surge in volumes in March when Garantex was eliminated, and Rapira continued to develop whereas Abcex fell in April.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
