A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which was popular among Russians 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, which is based in Kyrgyzstan, announced the breach via its Telegram channel and an official statement on its website, attributing the attack to state-backed entities from 'unfriendly states' due to the high level of coordination and technical expertise involved. According to Grinex, preliminary data suggests that the attack was deliberately orchestrated to undermine Russia's financial sovereignty. The exchange had previously been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for its role in helping users evade restrictions through the use of a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5, which facilitated cross-border payments after Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was severed following its invasion of Ukraine.
Originally known as Garantex, the platform re-emerged as Grinex after being taken down. The temporary suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds while the company conducts an investigation.
Furthermore, access to the exchange's Moscow office has been restricted. In an effort to provide transparency, Grinex has released a list of 54 affected wallet addresses, along with the corresponding amounts that were drained, with the majority of the stolen funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.