A prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Grinex, has temporarily halted its operations after disclosing a significant cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion rubles, equivalent to $13 million. The exchange, which was previously known as Garantex and is based in Kyrgyzstan, announced the breach on its official Telegram channel and website, suggesting that the attack was likely orchestrated by state-sponsored actors from hostile nations. According to Grinex, the attack's level of sophistication and coordination implies the involvement of 'unfriendly states' with substantial resources and technological capabilities.
The exchange stated that preliminary data indicates the attack was designed to directly undermine Russia's financial sovereignty. Grinex had been sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU last year for allegedly assisting users in circumventing restrictions through a ruble-backed stablecoin called A7A5, which facilitated cross-border transactions after Russia's access to the Swift inter-bank messaging system was severed due to its invasion of Ukraine. Following the sanctions, the platform re-emerged as Grinex.
The suspension of trading activities has left users without access to their funds while the company conducts an investigation, and its Moscow office has also been closed off. Grinex has released a list of 54 affected wallet addresses and the corresponding amounts that were drained, with the majority of the stolen funds being in the form of USDT on the TRON blockchain.