WazirX announced reward of $23 million to recover stolen funds

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX today announced a reward of around $23 million, along with a comprehensive bounty program to recover over $230 million worth of funds which were stolen from the exchange on July 18, 2023.

Per its recent release, the exchange invited ethical hackers and experts to provide actionable intelligence and insights that could help in freezing and stalling further usage or transfer of stolen funds. Those who are able to offer such "successful intelligence" shall be rewarded with up to $10,000 worth of USDTs, the release noted. In case the participant is unable to freeze the funds on their own accord, they will be required to collaborate with the crypto platform.

WazirX also announced a white hat recovery bounty, inviting the expertise of blockchain forensics and cybersecurity professionals in getting the funds back. While initially, the reward was set at 5% of the recovered amount, it was ultimately raised to 10% of the money recovered, which could mean up to $23 million for those who are able to successfully recover the stolen money, and verify the same. Per the exchange, this was one of the largest bounties to ever be offered in the history of crypto hacks.

The offer is open for the hacker who has taken control 0f funds in the first place, provided they returned the entire sum to a specified ERC20 wallet. The bounty program will be active for three months, starting from the date of this announcement i.e. July 21st, but an extension or reduction of the time frame would be considered, depending on how the recovery was panning out.

According to the release, "interested individuals should email bounty@wazirx.com with their intent to participate along with their contact details. Additionally, it should also include detailed submissions of the addresses, transactions, and methodologies to be used for tracking and recovery".

The crypto platform witnessed a staggering 217% rise in its trading volumes, and a massive 12% rise in signups during October 2023 and March 2024, with the last month of the FY24 registering trading volumes worth over $400 million.

As revealed in its proof of reserves report for June 2024, as of June 10th, the total holdings of the crypto exchange stood at Rs 4,203.88 crore, or about USDT 503.64 million.

Nischal Shetty, Founder – WazirX noted that their foremost goal is to recover the stolen funds. "This bounty program is designed to tap into the expertise of the community to achieve this critical objective. We remain committed to transparency and collaboration, reinforcing our dedication to a secure and resilient digital finance ecosystem", he continued.