A major Russian-linked cryptocurrency exchange has been forced to suspend all trading operations following a devastating cyber attack that resulted in the theft of approximately 1 billion roubles ($13 million). The platform, Grinex, went offline abruptly after the security breach, leaving investors locked out of their accounts as investigations into the hack continue.

Crypto Exchange Grinex Accuses ‘Unfriendly States’

In a statement released on Thursday, the exchange claimed that the attack was carried out by “foreign intelligence services,” claiming that the “digital footprints” and overall character of the hack pointed to an unprecedented level of resources and technology available only to entities from “unfriendly states.”

The exchange also claimed that, based on preliminary information, the operation was coordinated to directly harm Russia’s financial sovereignty.

Even though Grinex is registered in Kyrgyzstan, blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic said the platform has strong ties to Russia. Elliptic also described Grinex as one of the largest venues for exchanging Russian rubles into crypto assets. 

Elliptic further connected Grinex’s rise to Garantex, a Russian exchange that has been sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and targeted for laundering “hundreds of millions of dollars” associated with ransomware, darknet markets, and state-sponsored hacking groups. 

Links Between Grinex And Garantex

In that case, Elliptic worked with the US Secret Service to identify crypto wallets controlled by Garantex, a step that helped enable the freezing of $26 million in stablecoins. 

According to Elliptic, Grinex is likely to have common ownership and management with Garantex and was created as a response to the sanctions imposed on Garantex. After Garantex was shut down, Elliptic said much of its liquidity and customers moved to Grinex.

Grinex is also identified as a primary platform for trading A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin that was created as part of what it called a Russian sanctions-evasion effort. The stablecoin has reportedly been used to move more than $100 billion.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com