A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, has suspended its services 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 has been linked to Russia and is based in Kyrgyzstan, made the announcement via its Telegram channel and official website. According to Grinex, the nature and scale of the attack suggest the involvement of state-sponsored actors from hostile nations.
The exchange stated, 'The digital trail and characteristics of the attack imply an unprecedented level of resources and technology, typically accessible only to the structures of unfriendly states.' It added that preliminary data indicates the attack was orchestrated to directly harm Russia's financial autonomy. Grinex, originally known as Garantex, was sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU last year for allegedly facilitating the circumvention of restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5. This stablecoin 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 temporary halt in trading has left users unable to access their funds while 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 amounts stolen, with the majority being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.