Cryptocurrency Exchange Grinex Shuts Down Following $13 Million Cyber Heist

A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, has suspended its services after falling victim to a substantial cyber attack, resulting in the loss of approximately $13 million. The exchange, which was formerly known as Garantex and is based in Kyrgyzstan, made the announcement via its Telegram channel and official website, attributing the attack to state-sponsored actors from 'hostile nations'. According to Grinex, the sophisticated nature of the attack suggests the involvement of well-resourced entities, potentially driven by the goal of undermining Russia's financial autonomy. The exchange had previously been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for allegedly enabling users to circumvent restrictions through the use of a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5. This token facilitated cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was restricted following its invasion of Ukraine. Grinex has since published a list of 54 affected wallet addresses, with the majority of the stolen funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.