Grinex Exchange Suspends Operations Following $13 Million Cyber Heist

A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which catered to Russians seeking to circumvent sanctions, has halted its operations after falling victim to a sophisticated cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion rubles, equivalent to $13 million. The breach was disclosed by the exchange via its Telegram channel and an official statement on its website, attributing the attack to state-sponsored actors from 'hostile nations' due to the high level of coordination and technical expertise involved. According to Grinex, preliminary data suggests the attack was deliberately designed to undermine Russia's financial autonomy. The exchange, originally operating as Garantex, was sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU last year for allegedly assisting users in evading restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5, which enabled cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was severed following its invasion of Ukraine. After being shut down, the platform re-emerged as Grinex. The suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds while the incident is being investigated, with the company's Moscow office also facing restricted access. Grinex has released a list detailing 54 affected wallet addresses and the corresponding amounts stolen, with the majority being in USDT on the TRON blockchain.