Russian Crypto Exchange Grinex Ceases Operations

On April 21, Russia’s major crypto exchange Grinex ceased operations last Wednesday due to a suspected major cyber attack, reportedly resulting in losses exceeding 1 billion rubles (approximately 13 million USD). The platform claimed on Telegram that the attack showed “signs of involvement from foreign intelligence agencies.” Grinex is the successor to the previously sanctioned and shut down Garantex exchange, providing a financial channel for the Russian economy to evade sanctions. In 2025, it processed nearly 100 billion USD in transactions for the sanctioned stablecoin A7A5. Experts point out that Grinex’s closure is not only due to the hacker attack itself but, more importantly, it removes a trading platform that Russian businesses relied on to convert rubles into usable international currencies, causing “serious damage” to the infrastructure for evading sanctions and making it harder for the Russian economy to escape the pressure of sanctions. The exchange had been sanctioned by Western authorities including the US, UK, and EU in August 2025. Meanwhile, the Russian economy continues to weaken, with Putin revealing that GDP declined by 1.8% in January-February this year, and maritime oil exports may drop to their lowest level since 2023.