Grinex Exchange Suspends Operations Following $13 Million Cyber Attack

A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, has temporarily ceased operations after suffering a significant cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion rubles, equivalent to $13 million. The exchange, which has been linked to Russia 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. The statement from Grinex suggests that the attack was highly sophisticated, utilizing substantial resources and advanced technology typically available only to state-backed entities. According to preliminary findings, the primary objective of the attack was to compromise Russia's financial autonomy. Grinex, formerly known as Garantex, has been under sanctions imposed by the US, UK, and EU due to allegations of assisting users in circumventing restrictions through the use of a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5. This token enabled cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was suspended following its invasion of Ukraine. Subsequently, the platform re-emerged as Grinex. The suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds as the company conducts an investigation. Furthermore, access to the company's Moscow office has been restricted. A list of 54 affected wallet addresses, along with the corresponding drained amounts, has been released by Grinex, with the majority of the stolen funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.