In a shocking turn of events, WazirX, one of India’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, has suspended trading following a significant cyberattack. The exchange has also launched a bounty program aimed at freezing and recovering the stolen assets.
WazirX shared an update on X, formerly known as Twitter, explaining, “The cyberattack has compromised our ability to maintain 1:1 collateral with assets, prompting us to temporarily pause trading.”
In response to the breach, WazirX has taken several immediate actions, including filing a police complaint and reporting the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and CERT-In. Additionally, WazirX’s co-founder Nischal Shetty announced that the exchange is collaborating with over 500 other exchanges to block addresses linked to the stolen funds, highlighting the importance of collective action as the assets move through various platforms.
To bolster their recovery efforts, WazirX is preparing a bounty program to incentivize individuals and entities to help trace and freeze the stolen assets. The team is also consulting with expert groups specializing in cryptocurrency transaction tracking for continuous monitoring and support.
WazirX expressed gratitude for the support from the wider Web3 community, emphasizing the need for a united front to tackle the issue and uphold the principles of the Web3 ecosystem. Shetty mentioned that the team is analyzing data to assess the full impact of the attack, which is crucial for developing an effective recovery plan and protecting customer funds.
In collaboration with forensic experts and law enforcement agencies, WazirX aims to identify and apprehend the perpetrators, striving to recover as much of the stolen assets as possible. The breach has resulted in a significant loss of approximately $235 million, marking it the second-largest hack of a centralized exchange, only surpassed by the $305 million DMM exploit in May.
Crypto investigator ZachXBT revealed on Telegram that the main attacker’s wallet still holds over $104 million, which has yet to be offloaded, indicating ongoing efforts to track and recover the stolen funds.
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