- The sanctioned Russia-linked crypto exchange Grinex has halted operations after a major hack resulted in the theft of over $13.1 million in user funds.
- Grinex claims the attack used state-level resources from “unfriendly states” and was designed to damage Russia’s financial sovereignty.
- The exchange is a key successor to the notorious, sanctioned platform Garantex and is the primary trading venue for the Russian A7A5 stablecoin.
The Russia-tied cryptocurrency exchange Grinex suspended all operations today, announcing it suffered a large-scale cyberattack that stole over 1 billion rubles ($13.1 million) in user assets. Registered in Kyrgyzstan, the exchange has facilitated over $6 billion in cryptoasset transactions, primarily involving Russian rubles.
Consequently, the exchange’s official statement framed the incident as an act of economic warfare by foreign governments. It claimed the attack possessed an “unprecedented level of resources and technologies available exclusively to structures of unfriendly states.”
The statement further argued the hack was part of a systematic campaign to restrict crypto withdrawals from the region. Its ultimate objective, according to Grinex, was to cause “direct damage to Russia’s domestic financial sovereignty.”
However, Grinex has functioned as a major conduit for sanctions evasion. It emerged as the direct successor to Garantex, a sanctioned Russian exchange that laundered hundreds of millions for Ransomware and darknet markets. According to earlier reports, Elliptic worked with the US Secret Service to identify and freeze $26 million in stablecoins linked to Garantex.
Meanwhile, Grinex also serves as the primary platform for trading the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5. This stablecoin has been used to transfer more than $100 billion as part of Russian sanctions evasion efforts.
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