A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which was popular among Russian users 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 exchange announced the breach on its official Telegram channel and website, attributing the attack to state-sponsored actors from 'hostile nations' due to its complex nature and high level of technical expertise. According to Grinex, preliminary findings suggest that the attack was orchestrated with the intention of undermining Russia's financial independence.
The exchange, originally known as Garantex, had been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for its role in helping users bypass restrictions through a ruble-pegged stablecoin called A7A5. This stablecoin enabled cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift banking network was severed following its invasion of Ukraine. After being taken down, the platform re-emerged as Grinex. The temporary suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds as the company conducts an investigation.
Additionally, access to its Moscow office has been restricted. Grinex has released a list of 54 affected wallet addresses along with the corresponding amounts that were drained, with the majority being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.