A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, 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 has been a popular platform for Russian users seeking to circumvent sanctions, announced the breach on its official Telegram channel and website. According to Grinex, the nature and scale of the attack suggest the involvement of state-sponsored actors from hostile nations.
The exchange stated, 'Preliminary analysis indicates that the attack was highly coordinated and utilized advanced technology, typically only accessible to state-backed entities.' It further suggested that the primary objective of the attack was to compromise Russia's financial autonomy. Grinex, originally operating as Garantex, was sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU last year for allegedly enabling users to bypass restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5. This stablecoin facilitated 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 under the name Grinex. The temporary suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds, pending an investigation.
Additionally, access to the company's 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.