Minority Mindset

Smart investments

Crypto News

Bitcoin, SHIB Trade at 30% Haircut on WazirX as Exploiter Converts Stolen Loot to Ether

Jul 18, 2024
  • The North Korea-linked exploiter who targeted WazirX has converted the majority of the $230 million stolen user assets into ether, totaling $200 million.
  • The exploit significantly impacted WazirX’s liquidity and listed token prices, with the exchange’s WRX token plunging 40% drop in the past 24 hours.
  • WazirX blamed a mismatch between a digital interface and a major crypto wallet for triggering the exploit, despite having five signers from the exchange on a wallet that stored user assets.
As a seasoned cybersecurity analyst with extensive experience in cryptocurrency exchange security breaches, I find the recent incident at WazirX deeply concerning. The exploit that drained $230 million from the Indian crypto exchange has taken a heavy toll on the platform’s liquidity and listed token prices.An individual with connections to North Korea is believed to be behind the hack of Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, resulting in a theft of approximately $230 million. According to reports from blockchain tracking platform Lookonchain, released on Friday, much of the stolen funds have been transformed into ether (ETH).

As of Friday morning, the individual in control possesses approximately 59,097 Ether tokens, which equate to around $200 million based on present market values. Additionally, they have roughly $15 million worth of various other digital tokens under their disposal.

Hackers typically exchange tokens for ethereum to utilize mixing platforms like Tornado Cash, which conceals the specifics of transactions, facilitating the process of laundering funds.

From my perspective as a researcher, I’ve observed that nearly all cryptocurrency tokens traded on WazirX displayed significant price discrepancies compared to their global and local market values by Friday morning. This observation suggests inadequate liquidity and intense selling pressure.

Bitcoin, SHIB Trade at 30% Haircut on WazirX as Exploiter Converts Stolen Loot to Ether

In the last 24 hours, the value of Bitcoin and Indian Rupee trading pair dropped by approximately 22%, whereas other local cryptocurrency exchanges like CoinDCX and Zebpay experienced a decrease of only 2% in their respective Bitcoin-Rupee pairs. The Shiba Inu and Indian Rupee pair, however, recorded a larger decline of around 30%.

The WRX token from WazirX has experienced a 40% decrease in value over the last 24 hours. Simultaneously, there was a significant increase in trading activity on the exchange, with volumes reaching $8 million during this period, as opposed to the $2.2 million recorded on Wednesday.

On Thursday, WazirX suffered a security incident that compromised one of its multisig wallets, resulting in the loss of approximately $152 million worth of assets, including over $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and $52 million in ether. This significant theft represented over 45% of the exchange’s reported reserves as of June 2024, leaving many users disheartened about the potential for a swift recovery.

The “mismatch” between the digital interface and the major crypto wallet led to an exploit, despite the presence of five approving signs from WazirX team members on the wallet where user assets were kept.

During the cyber assault on Limital, there was a discrepancy between the data shown on the interface and the authentic signature. It is suspected that the attackers swapped the payload, enabling them to seize control of the digital wallet.

Some in the Indian crypto community, however, expressed distrust over that explanation.

“At the scene, six individuals are required for investigation to confirm if they’ve been hacked again, while blaming each other for the mishap,” Pankaj Tanwar, a renowned crypto YouTuber, stated on X. “This error could have severe consequences for #Crypto in India.”

“What makes this secure?, and which specific compliance measures are being implemented on cryptocurrency exchanges?” asked @studybitcoin21, the host of a Bitcoin podcast.

Crypto and fiat withdrawals from WazirX are temporarily paused.

Read More

2024-07-19 10:50