March 7 (UPI) — Working with Germany and Finland, U.S. officials disrupted and took down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.
Those organizations included terrorist groups, according to U.S. Justice Department officials, who made the announcement in a press release on Friday.
An indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia leveled charges against Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national and Russian resident, and Aleksandr Mira Serda (also known as Aleksandr Ntifo-Siaw), 40, a Russian national and United Arab Emirates resident, according to Justice officials.
According to the indictment, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since April 2019.
In the release, Justice officials said Mira Serda and Besciokov are charged with money laundering conspiracy, and Besciokov is charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Garantex was run by Mira Serda and Besciokov from 2019 to 2015, according to Justice officials. Authorities said Besciokov was Garantex’s main technical administrator and responsible for maintaining critical Garantex infrastructure, as well as reviewing and approving transactions. Officials say Mira Serda was Garantex’s co-founder and chief commercial officer.
U.S. officials say the crypto exchange Garantex received hundreds of millions in criminal funding and was used to “facilitate various crimes, including hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking, often with substantial impact to U.S. victims.”
Besciokov and Mira Serda knew that the exchange was facilitating crimes, Justice officials said, adding that Garantex took steps to conceal the facilitation of illegal activities, such as money laundering, on its platform.
According to Friday’s release from the Justice Department, in April 2022 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Garantex for its role in facilitating money laundering of funds from ransomware actors and so-called darknet markets.
According to court documents cited in Friday’s release, “despite the widespread publicity of the sanctions and Garantex administrator’s personal knowledge of them, Besciokov and his co-conspirators violated those sanctions by continuing to transact with U.S.-based entities.
“Further, Besciokov and his co-conspirators redesigned Garantex’s operations to evade and violate U.S. sanctions and induce U.S. businesses to unwittingly transact with Garantex in violation of the sanctions,” Justice officials said.
As an example of attempts at evasion, Justice officials said Garantex allegedly moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses on a daily basis “in order to make it difficult for U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to identify and block transactions with Garantex accounts.”
Additionally and despite doing a notable amount of business in the United States and operating as a money transmitting business, Garantex failed to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as required, Justice officials said.
The U.S. Justice Department said that, on March 6, U.S. law enforcement executed a seizure order authorized by a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia against three website domain names used to support Garantex’s operations: Garantex.org, Garantex.io, and Garantex.academy.
According to officials, the seizure will prevent the sites from being used for money laundering and any other crimes. Individuals who go to those sites now see a message indicating that the site has been seized by law enforcement.
Additionally, officials said Friday that German and Finnish law enforcement also seized servers hosting Garantex’s operations. U.S. law authorities, according to the Justice Department, have separately obtained earlier copies of Garantex’s servers, including customer and accounting databases. More than $26 million in funds used to facilitate Garantex’s money laundering activities have been frozen, U.S. officials said.
If convicted, Besciokov and Mira Serda face decades behind bars.
Key Takeaways:
Arthur Hayes’ latest market note, titled “No Trade Zone,” signals that bitcoin’s outlook is increasingly tied to global liquidity conditions rather than traditional macro indicators. On April 15, the Bitmex co-founder and Maelstrom CIO outlined a cautious stance, citing geopolitical tensions and artificial intelligence-driven economic risks as key constraints. The essay presents BTC as vulnerable in the short term but positioned to respond to future monetary expansion.
Hayes centered his outlook on monetary conditions rather than conventional valuation models. He asked, “Do you believe the quantity or the price of money is more important when valuing bitcoin?” He then answered with a direct thesis:
“I believe the quantity of money determines the price of bitcoin, not its price.”
That view underpins his broader market framework, which expects bitcoin to struggle during periods of forced deleveraging, then strengthen when policymakers expand credit. He tied that dynamic to several geopolitical outcomes involving the Strait of Hormuz, as well as to a domestic economic slowdown driven by job losses among white-collar workers. In Hayes’ view, those pressures could hit credit quality, weigh on banks, and delay any durable crypto rally until authorities supply fresh liquidity to stabilize the system.
That caution appears clearly in one of the essay’s most specific forecasts. “ Bitcoin might bounce a bit after the situation reverts to the pre-war status quo,” Hayes wrote. “However, the AI agentic deflation bomb still ticks below the surface. Until the Fed provides the liquidity needed to plug the black hole in banks’ balance sheets caused by consumer credit defaults, bitcoin will not meaningfully rise.” He further shared:
“That’s not to say it couldn’t spike to $80,000 to $90,000, but for me putting new units of fiat at risk requires an all-clear from the Fed.”
The statement shows that he still sees upside potential, but not before broader financial stress is addressed.
Hayes also warned that market stress could produce another sharp bitcoin selloff before any recovery takes hold. “As investors de-risk their portfolios because of higher volatility and lower prices, investors sell bitcoin to meet margin calls,” he described, adding: “Only when things get bad enough will bitcoin rise, as expectations of a bailout become the consensus.” In the most extreme scenario, even a liquidity-fueled rally may not last. As Hayes put it: “The rally in bitcoin, inspired by money printing, might be short-lived because the destruction of the Iranian state materially raises the prospect of WW3.” Taken together, the essay presents a conditional forecast: near-term volatility remains high, while any lasting upside still depends on crisis-era money creation.
Key Takeaways:
Sanctions pressure continues to test the resilience of crypto networks tied to restricted financial activity. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis on April 17 examined Grinex after the sanctioned exchange suspended operations. The review described the shutdown as a new stress point for infrastructure tied to sanctions evasion.
Grinex claimed a cyberattack cost about 1 billion rubles, or $13.7 million, and published the source and destination addresses involved. Chainalysis then assessed the transfers using on-chain data rather than relying on the exchange’s narrative. The analysis found that the stolen assets were mainly a fiat-backed stablecoin before being moved through a Tron-based decentralized exchange into TRX.
“In the case of the alleged Grinex hack, the stablecoin funds were quickly swapped for a non-freezable token, thereby avoiding the risk of having the stablecoins frozen by the issuer,” the blockchain analytics firm stated, adding:
“This frantic swapping from stablecoins to more decentralized tokens is a hallmark tactic of cybercriminals and illicit actors attempting to launder funds before a centralized freeze can be executed.”
Chainalysis argued that this behavior does not fit a typical Western law enforcement seizure because authorities can request freezes from centralized stablecoin issuers. The firm instead said the rapid conversion raises questions about whether the activity aligns with a conventional external hack.
Those conclusions rest on more than the attack claim alone. Chainalysis noted that the decentralized exchange used in the swap had previously served Garantex, the sanctioned predecessor to Grinex, as a liquidity source for hot wallets. That detail is notable because Chainalysis has already described Grinex as the direct successor to Garantex after international enforcement disrupted the earlier platform. The company also tied Grinex to A7A5, a ruble-backed token issued by sanctioned Kyrgyzstani company Old Vector.
According to the analysis, A7A5 was built for a narrow Russia-linked payments ecosystem aligned with cross-border settlement needs under sanctions pressure. Chainalysis added that the exfiltrated funds were still sitting in a single address at publication time, leaving a live trail for future forensic review.
The broader takeaway was less about one theft than about the financial system surrounding it. Chainalysis observed that the episode is the latest disruption inside a “shadow crypto economy.” That phrase captured the firm’s larger conclusion that Grinex, Garantex, A7A5, and related services formed an interlinked network designed to keep value moving despite sanctions. Chainalysis further disclosed that it labeled the relevant addresses in its products to help customers identify exposure as the funds move downstream. Even without final attribution, the firm made clear that Grinex’s suspension damages a key channel within that sanctioned ecosystem.
At 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time today, the market price for a single Bitcoin (BTC) is $75,746.90. That’s a $960.86 jump from where it was trading yesterday morning and about $9,200 lower than it was one year ago.
Bitcoin is widely recognized as the pioneering cryptocurrency and continues to hold the top spot in terms of name recognition and market size. Its market capitalization is roughly $1.33 trillion, putting it far ahead of second-place Ethereum with about $233 billion in market cap.
At a basic level, Bitcoin functions as a decentralized digital currency. Instead of relying on a central authority like a bank or government, it runs on a peer-to-peer network of computers. This design lets people transfer value straight to others without using a traditional financial intermediary.
Many investors turn to Bitcoin as a potential hedge against inflation in the U.S. dollar or as a way to branch out beyond conventional investments. Over the past decade, it has posted stunning gains, often outperforming major stock indexes, which has played a big role in its popularity.
At the same time, Bitcoin shares a key trait with other cryptocurrencies—it can be extremely volatile, with frequent and sometimes dramatic price changes.
Since it was introduced in 2009, Bitcoin has been highly volatile and often headline-grabbing. One early milestone in its history involves developer Laszlo Hanyecz, who famously spent 10,000 Bitcoins on pizza. Today, those coins would be valued at more than 668 million dollars.
Over the last decade or so, Bitcoin’s price has climbed more than 15,000%. This tremendous growth comes with a trade-off, as cryptocurrencies are known for their unpredictability. Bitcoin has undergone severe pullbacks—sometimes dropping tens of thousands of dollars within months—as well as dramatic recoveries. At the close of 2025, it was trading roughly 30% below the all-time high it hit that very October.
Several different dynamics can move Bitcoin’s price up or down, including:
If you’ve decided to invest in Bitcoin, there are multiple ways to do it. Here are some of the main options.
The most straightforward route is to buy Bitcoin directly. You set up an account with a crypto exchange, connect it to your bank, and then use your deposited cash to buy Bitcoin.
For those who prefer a more traditional investment vehicle, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are an alternative. A Bitcoin ETF holds Bitcoin on behalf of its shareholders, and its shares trade on standard stock exchanges. This option lets you skip the process of managing your own crypto wallet and can reduce the risk of losing access to your funds because of a password mistake or wallet issue.
Investors who don’t want to buy Bitcoin directly can also consider stocks of companies in the crypto space. These might include tech companies that support blockchain technology, public crypto exchanges, even payment processors. Because these companies may earn revenue from Bitcoin-related activity, their share prices can offer indirect exposure to Bitcoin’s performance.
For retirement-focused investing, a Bitcoin IRA is another great option. Like a standard IRA, it’s a tax-advantaged account with similar contribution limits and tax rules, but it lets you allocate some of your retirement savings to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as alternative investments.
Bitcoin might be the best-known name in crypto, but it is not your only choice. When weighing where to put your money, you may want to compare it with a few other major coins.
See our newsroom’s recent coverage of what’s been happening on the cryptocurrency scene:
When compared with long-standing blue-chip names such as Procter & Gamble or Walmart, Bitcoin is still a newcomer. That makes predicting its long-term behavior challenging. But its recent history has been impressive. As more companies start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method, its price may get a further boost, and as the asset matures, it might eventually see somewhat smoother price movements.
However, Bitcoin should not be treated as a sure bet. It’s wise to invest only money you can afford to have tied up and to ensure your broader portfolio is diversified, so other investments can help offset Bitcoin’s volatility.
For most people, Bitcoin is better viewed as a long-term, higher-risk holding than as a quick trade. It is not ideal for investors who are uncomfortable watching large price swings. But if you plan to hold it for years and keep it as a piece of a balanced portfolio, investing in Bitcoin could make sense for a portion of your overall strategy.
While the answer is obviously unknowable, crypto experts are generally optimistic about the short-term success of Bitcoin. Some models price it at more than $700,000 by 2030, with conservative estimates closer to $300,000.
As of this writing, Bitcoin reached its highest price ever on Oct. 6, 2025, pricing at a whopping $126,198.07.
Yes, you can buy a fraction of a Bitcoin. Most cryptocurrency exchanges offer fractional investing, meaning you can buy portions of crypto coins. Thanks to fractional investing, you can invest in Bitcoin with as little as a few dollars.
If you want to invest directly in Bitcoin by owning the currency, you’ll typically open an account with a cryptocurrency exchange. Once the account is created, you can transfer money to your crypto account from your bank and place an order for Bitcoin and other tokens or coins. You can also indirectly invest in Bitcoin via an ETF or a business that uses Bitcoin.
You can use your Bitcoin holdings in several ways, from selling for cash to trading it for other coins. In some cases, you can also pay for purchases, such as with Tesla and Microsoft.
Bitcoin has well outperformed the stock market since its launch, but its extreme volatility makes it far less than a guarantee to be a better investment than stocks.
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