Indian Exchange WazirX Loses $234M in Recent Exploit

Massive Crypto Hack Targets WazirX

WazirX, India's leading cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has unfortunately fallen victim to a significant hack, with losses estimated at over $234 million. This incident adds to the growing list of high-profile security breaches in the cryptocurrency industry.

Details of the Hack

The hack was detected by Tnzdot, a member of the decentralized technology community, who reported suspicious activity involving WazirX's Ethereum-based multi-sig wallet. Blockchain data confirmed the stolen amount at $234.9 million at the time of reporting.

As per Etherscan, the hack commenced at 19:19 UTC with the transfer of 4.1 Gnosis (GNO) from WazirX's wallet to the hackers' address. The hackers subsequently converted the stolen assets to Ethereum (ETH) using Uniswap V3.

Hacker Tactics

The hackers employed a sophisticated technique to conceal the stolen funds by transferring them through multiple addresses before converting them to ETH. Currently, three main addresses have been identified as holding the majority of the hacked assets.

WazirX's Response

WazirX has acknowledged the breach in an official statement, confirming that the security team is actively investigating the incident. As a precautionary measure, the exchange has temporarily suspended all withdrawals in cryptocurrency and Indian rupees (INR) to safeguard customer assets.

Growing Concern

This incident is part of a concerning trend of security breaches in the cryptocurrency sector. Just two days earlier, LI.FI, a decentralized cross-chain protocol, lost $8 million in a similar hack. Data suggests that hacking incidents in June alone resulted in losses of $176.2 million.

Such breaches highlight the urgent need for industry executives and officials to implement robust security measures to protect digital assets and ensure the stability of the global crypto industry.