In this ongoing potential bull run, the Indian crypto market experienced a massive setback as the fastest-growing crypto exchange lost nearly $235 million in a security breach. On July 18, 2024, Cyvers, a prominent web3 security firm, revealed a major security breach involving WazirX, a leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange.
WazirX lost $235 million in security breach
According to reports, WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet on the Ethereum blockchain has been at the center of multiple suspicious transactions, totaling approximately $234.9 million. These funds were swiftly transferred to a new address, with each transaction unidentified through Tornado Cash, a decentralized protocol known for obfuscating transaction trails.
ALERTHey @WazirXIndia, Our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving your Safe Multisig wallet on the #ETH network.A total of $234.9M of your funds have been moved to a new address. Each transaction's caller is funded by @TornadoCash.The suspicious… pic.twitter.com/4sajAwd4Hb
— Cyvers Alerts (@CyversAlerts) July 18, 2024
The incident came to light through insights shared by ZachXBT, a well-known crypto investigator on Telegram. He reported that the primary attacker’s address still retains over $104 million in assets, potentially indicating further threats to WazirX’s holdings.
Initially comprising a diverse portfolio, the compromised WazirX wallet included notable tokens such as $100 million in Shiba Inu, $52 million in Ethereum, and $11 million in Polygon. Other affected assets ranged from meme coins like FLOKI to established tokens such as Fantom and Chainlink.
In response to the breach, WazirX has taken immediate action by suspending all cryptocurrency and Indian rupee withdrawal services. The exchange assured its users that they are actively investigating the incident and will provide updates as the situation unfolds. However, they have yet to disclose details on the security of user funds or potential plans for recovering the stolen assets.
Indian government action on Crypto exchanges
Meanwhile, the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies in India remains uncertain. Recently, the Indian Ministry of Finance’s Financial Intelligence Unit issued compliance notices to several foreign exchanges, including OKX, urging Indian users to close their accounts by April 30 due to the cessation of services in India. This move underscores the ongoing challenges and ambiguities surrounding cryptocurrency regulations in the country, despite years of discussions.
As stakeholders await further developments from WazirX and regulatory authorities, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within the crypto industry and the pressing need for robust security measures to protect user funds and maintain market integrity.
Following all these updates, the overall crypto market didn’t experience any price drop. As of writing, the overall market is up by 1% and top assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have experienced a price gain of nearly 1%.
