A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, which was popular among Russian users seeking to circumvent sanctions, has temporarily ceased operations after falling victim to a 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 on its official Telegram channel and website, suggesting that the attack was highly sophisticated and likely orchestrated by state-sponsored entities from 'hostile nations.' According to Grinex, preliminary analysis indicates that the attack was characterized by an unprecedented level of technological expertise and resources, typically reserved for 'structures of unfriendly states,' and was intended to directly undermine Russia's financial autonomy. Notably, Grinex had been subject to sanctions imposed by the US, UK, and EU last year, with officials in Washington accusing the platform, originally known as Garantex, of enabling users to bypass restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5. This token facilitated cross-border transactions at a time when Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was suspended due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Following the imposition of sanctions, the platform re-emerged as Grinex. As a result of the current hacking incident, trading activities have been put on hold, leaving users without access to their funds while the company conducts an investigation. Additionally, access to Grinex's Moscow office has been restricted.
The exchange 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.