Russian Ruble Crypto Gateway Grinex Halts Trading After $13 Million Theft

Users cannot trade or access assets on Grinex after the exchange suspended its services. The suspension follows a cyber attack that resulted in the theft of 1 billion roubles, or $13 million. Grinex attributed the attack to foreign intelligence services from unfriendly states, claiming the operation was coordinated to harm Russia's financial sovereignty. The exchange is registered in Kyrgyzstan but serves as one of the largest venues for exchanging Russian rubles into crypto assets. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic identifies Grinex as having common ownership and management with Garantex, a Russian exchange sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars. Grinex was created as a response to those sanctions, absorbing much of the liquidity and customers from Garantex. The platform also serves as a primary trading venue for A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin used to move more than $100 billion in sanctions-evasion efforts.