A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which catered to Russian users seeking to circumvent sanctions, has halted all operations after falling victim to a sophisticated cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion rubles, equivalent to $13 million. The exchange, originally based in Kyrgyzstan and formerly known as Garantex, made the announcement via its Telegram channel and official website, attributing the breach to state-sponsored actors from 'hostile nations' due to the high level of coordination and technical expertise displayed by the attackers.
According to Grinex, preliminary evidence suggests that the assault was deliberately orchestrated to undermine Russia's financial autonomy. The exchange had previously been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for its role in enabling users to bypass restrictions through the use of a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5, which facilitated cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift international banking network was severed following its invasion of Ukraine.
Following the sanctions, the platform reemerged as Grinex. The temporary suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds while the company conducts an investigation. Moreover, access to Grinex's Moscow office has been restricted. In response to the incident, the exchange has released a list detailing 54 affected wallet addresses and the corresponding amounts that were drained, with the majority of the stolen funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.