WazirX suspends withdrawals after $230 million worth of cryptos stolen in a hack

• WazirX has suffered a massive security breach, with hackers stealing cryptocurrency from the platform.
• Over $230 million in cryptos was stolen from the company’s wallets.
• The company has suspended withdrawals in rupees and cryptos.

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Thursday reported a massive security breach on its platform, which has resulted in the theft of over $230 million in cryptocurrency.

WazirX took to social media platform X to confirm the security breach and informed users that customer withdrawals from the exchange have been temporarily paused.

“A cyber-attack occurred in one of our multisig wallets involving a loss of funds exceeding $230 million. Despite us taking all necessary steps to protect the customer assets, the cyber attackers appear to have possibly breached such security features, and the theft occurred,” WazirX said in a post on X.


The breach reportedly occurred in one of the exchange's multisig wallets, which require multiple private keys to unlock and withdraw funds.

The incident was linked to a discrepancy between the data displayed on Liminal's digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure and the actual contents of the transaction. Liminal has been providing services to WazirX since February 2023.

“Our preliminary investigations show that one of the self-custody multi-sig smart contract wallets created outside of the Liminal ecosystem has been compromised. We can confirm that Liminal’s platform is not breached and Liminal’s infrastructure, wallets and assets continue to remain safe,” Liminal Custody said in a statement to Business Insider India.

“It is also pertinent to note that all WazirX wallets created on the Liminal platform continue to remain secure and protected. Meanwhile, all the malicious transactions to the attacker’s addresses have occurred from outside of the Liminal platform,” Liminal added.

WazirX has suspended all withdrawals, in both rupees and crypto on its platform.

“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,” the company added.

“We have identified 2 more exploited smart contracts. Our team is still investigating the incident. For the time being we have opened up a secluded website to revoke all approvals. Your funds are at risk until you revoke,” WazirX added.

This security breach comes at a challenging time for WazirX, as the exchange has seen its trading volume plummet by 90% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The decline can be attributed to the Indian government's introduction of a 30% tax on virtual currencies and a 1% deduction for every crypto transaction in 2022.

Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating several cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) related to cryptocurrencies.

SEE ALSO:

Amazon Prime Day 2024 to begin on July 20 in India – everything you need to know about Amazon’s biggest sale

Sanstar IPO now open – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know

OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T – which mid-range phone should you buy under ₹35,000?