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Mumbai-based crypto exchange WazirX has reportedly lost approximately $230 million due to a hack. The breach was identified by Lookchain, a third-party blockchain explorer, which revealed that more than 200 cryptocurrencies were stolen. These included:
WazirX brands itself as ‘India Ka Bitcoin Exchange’ and primarily serves the Indian market. It is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India, enabling it to offer crypto exchange services to Indian citizens. Despite this setback, WazirX’s commitment to security and recovery efforts highlights its dedication to maintaining trust within the crypto community.
The largest intrusion on an Indian exchange occurred on the cryptocurrency platform WazirX, where hackers stole investor holdings valued at over $230 million, or about half of the firm’s total reserves. Blockchain specialists suggested that the hack may have been carried out by the cybercriminal organisation Lazarus.
The magnitude of the theft is particularly devastating for WazirX, which had disclosed holdings of around $500 million in its June proof-of-reserves report. This hack represents nearly half of its reserves, making it one of the most significant crypto thefts in recent years according to estimates by Cyvers.
The hack on WazirX underscores the vulnerabilities within the crypto exchange ecosystem, even among well-established platforms. The significant loss of nearly half its reserves marks a major blow to the industry, emphasizing the need for enhanced security measures and robust response strategies to safeguard assets and maintain user confidence.
The stolen funds, totaling $234.9 million, were moved from a Safe Multisig wallet to a new address. Each transaction was funded through Tornado Cash, a decentralized protocol on Ethereum designed for private transactions, indicating a sophisticated approach to obfuscate the trail of the stolen assets.
Liminal Custody, a crypto storage provider, clarified that the compromised wallet was a self-custody multi-signature smart contract wallet created outside its ecosystem. “Liminal’s platform remains secure, and all WazirX wallets created on our platform are protected. The malicious transactions originated outside of the Liminal platform,” the company stated.
In response to the incident, WazirX issued a statement on its X account, describing the hack as a “force majeure event beyond our control.” WazirX has described the hack as a “force majeure event beyond our control” and is actively working to locate and recover the funds. The company is actively working to locate and recover the funds
This incident has raised concerns among WazirX users regarding the safety of their funds on the exchange. The hack poses a significant setback for India’s recovering crypto industry.
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