The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in India, WazirX, suffered a significant security compromise that resulted in the loss of $230 million in digital assets.
India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, has been hit by a significant security breach resulting in the theft of more than $230 million in digital assets. The breach, detected during early European hours on Thursday, July 18, affected one of WazirX's wallets leading to the loss of user funds through unauthorized withdrawals.
WazirX focuses primarily on the Indian market and stands out as one of the few exchanges registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). This registration enables WazirX to legally offer cryptocurrency exchange services to Indian citizens.
"We're aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We'll keep you posted with further updates," take a look at the company's post on X (formerly Twitter).
According to Coindesk, Elliptic suspects North Korea-linked hackers are responsible for the WazirX breach. Cyver first flagged suspicious transactions on X (formerly Twitter) involving WazirX's Safe Multisig wallet prompting investigation into the breach's scope and impact on crypto security.
WazirX halted both INR and crypto withdrawals on July 18 after a major security breach. The breach involved a suspicious transfer of $230 million from one of its multisig wallets which requires multiple private keys for transactions. Initially reported by Web3 security firm Cyver on X (formerly Twitter), the incident highlighted multiple suspicious transactions linked to WazirX’s multi-signature wallet, Safe Multisig.
According to Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics tool, the stolen assets included $102 million of Shiba Inu, $52.5 million in Ethereum, $11.24 million in Matic, $7.6 million in Pepe coin, $135 million in Tether and $3.5 million in Gala tokens. Following the incident leading Indian crypto platforms such as CoinSwitch, CoinDCX and Mudrex assured their users via social media that their assets remained secure amidst the breach at WazirX.
As per WazirX Statement on X - A cyber attack occurred in one of our multisig wallets involving a loss of funds exceeding $230 million. This wallet was operated utilizing the services of Liminal's digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure from February 2023.”
The statement added that it was a force majeure event beyond their control, but the exchange is leaving no stone unturned to locate and recover the funds. “We have already blocked a few deposits and reached out to concerned wallets for recovery. We are in touch with the best resources to help us in this endeavour. While these are the findings from our preliminary investigation, we will keep you posted with further updates. Together with your support, we shall overcome this challenge and emerge stronger and more resilient than ever.”