Cryptocurrency Exchange Grinex Suspends Activities Following $13 Million Cyber Heist

A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which was popular among Russians seeking to circumvent sanctions, has halted its operations after falling victim to a massive cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion rubles, equivalent to $13 million. The exchange announced the breach via its Telegram channel and an official statement on its website, attributing the sophisticated attack to state-sponsored actors from hostile nations. According to Grinex, the nature and scope of the attack suggest an 'unprecedented level of resources and technology available exclusively to the structures of unfriendly states,' with the primary objective being to directly undermine Russia's financial sovereignty. Having been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU last year for its role in helping users evade restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5, Grinex had re-emerged after initially being taken down. The suspension of trading activities has left users unable to access their funds, while the company conducts an investigation. Grinex has released a list of 54 affected wallet addresses, with most of the drained funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.