Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Hacked for $235 Million: A Comprehensive Analysis

WazirX, an Indian crypto exchange, has fallen victim to a significant security breach, resulting in the theft of $235 million from its Safe Multisig wallet on Ethereum.

WazirX Safe Multisig Wallet Compromised

The Web3 security firm Cyvers has identified "multiple suspicious transactions" involving WazirX's Safe Multisig wallet on Ethereum. According to a post on X, it is believed that $234.9 million in funds from the Indian crypto exchange’s wallet have been transferred to a new address. Each transaction’s caller was funded by Tornado Cash, a decentralized protocol for private transactions.

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The new address has already converted the stolen funds, which included Tether (USDT), Pepe (PEPE), and Gala (GALA), into Ether (ETH).

Over $210 Million Yet to Be Liquidated

According to a Telegram post in the "Investigations by ZachXBT" channel, crypto analyst ZachXBT reported that the primary suspected attacker's address still holds over $104 million to be liquidated.

The wallet primarily contained approximately $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB), $52 million in ETH, and $11 million in Polygon (MATIC). It also held $4.7 million in FLOKI, $3.2 million in Fantom (FTM), $2.8 million in Chainlink (LINK), $2.3 million in Fetch.ai (FET), and the remaining funds were distributed among various other tokens.

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WazirX Suspends Withdrawals

In response to the security breach, the Indian crypto exchange has temporarily suspended the withdrawal of cryptocurrencies and Indian rupees on the platform.

In an official post on X, the WazirX team explained that they are "actively investigating the incident" and will provide updates as the situation develops. Cointelegraph reached out to WazirX for comments on the safety of user funds and measures to recover the stolen crypto assets. However, the team indicated that a response was "not possible at this time."

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Regulatory Challenges for Indian Crypto Exchange Market

On March 21, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Indian Ministry of Finance issued compliance notices to multiple foreign crypto exchanges, including OKX. The notice directed Indian OKX users to close their accounts and redeem funds by April 30, as the exchange announced it was "no longer providing services to users in India."

Despite nearly four years of ongoing discussions, the regulatory framework for the crypto market in India remains uncertain.

News Source:- cointelegraph.com