Russian Cryptocurrency Exchange Grinex Shuts Down, Experts Warn It Will 'Significantly Damage' Russia's Shadow Economy

BlockBeats News, April 20th. According to DLNEWS, Russia's major cryptocurrency exchange platform Grinex ceased operations last Wednesday due to a suspected large-scale cyber attack, with losses reportedly exceeding 1 billion rubles (about $13 million). The platform claimed on Telegram that the attack showed signs of "involvement of a foreign intelligence agency."

Grinex is the successor to the sanctioned and closed Garantex exchange platform, which provided a financial channel for Russia's economy to evade sanctions. In 2025, it facilitated nearly $100 billion in transactions for the sanctioned stablecoin A7A5.

Experts pointed out that the closure of Grinex not only resulted from the cyber attack itself but more importantly, it removed the exchange platform on which Russian businesses relied to convert rubles into usable international currency. This dealt a "severe blow" to Russia's sanctions evasion infrastructure, making it more difficult for the country to withstand the pressure of sanctions on its economy.

The exchange platform was sanctioned by Western authorities such as the U.S., U.K., and EU in August 2025. Meanwhile, the Russian economy continues to weaken, with Putin revealing a 1.8% GDP decline in January-February and the possibility of a drop in seaborne oil exports to the lowest level since 2023.