WazirX Hacker Launders 200 Crore in Two days

As a seasoned crypto investor with years of experience navigating the volatile digital asset market, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. However, the recent series of events surrounding the WazirX hack has left me more than just perplexed. The audacity of these cybercriminals to move millions in stolen funds through Tornado Cash is a testament to their ingenuity and the anonymity cryptocurrencies can provide.


The individuals responsible for hacking WazirX have once more shifted funds, with approximately 10,000 Ethereum (equivalent to around Rs 197.68 crore) being laundered through Tornado Cash. This activity makes it increasingly difficult to retrieve the stolen assets, as efforts to recover them in Singapore’s legal system appear to be stagnant for Indian users.

On September 19th, the address “0x46b9d…” was active once more with a series of 50 transactions involving 100 Ethers each, followed by one transaction containing 5,001 Ethers.

On September 17th, a series of 50 transactions, each involving 100 Ether, were conducted from the address “0x5990c7…” prior to this event.

Based on information from Etherscan’s blockchain data, hackers transferred approximately 10,000 ethers around Wednesday morning, increasing their overall total to 15,000 ethers since Monday night. Remarkably, the wallet where these hacked funds reside continues to hold more than $50 million worth of tokens, predominantly ether.

Tornado Cash, though not intrinsically unlawful, is often employed by cryptocurrency crooks for camouflaging transactions, which in turn complicates the process of identifying the source of pilfered assets.

As a crypto investor looking back on events, I can recall the devastating hack that occurred on WazirX in July. This cyber attack specifically targeted a multisig wallet, resulting in a staggering loss of over $100 million worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) and approximately $52 million in Ether, alongside other assets. The funds stolen equaled more than 45% of WazirX’s total reserves as reported in June 2024. Since then, the exchange has taken steps to initiate a restructuring process aimed at managing its outstanding debts.

During the reorganization phase, Nischal Shetty, the founder of WazirX, has repeatedly shifted accountability to different parties on several occasions. At first, he pointed the finger at custodian Liminal, accusing them of being responsible for a breach. However, Liminal refuted this claim.

Earlier this week, Binance denied allegations made by Shetty in August, stating that they did not hold the majority of WazirX’s parent company Zettai Labs’ funds. This denial was made in a recent blog post.

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2024-09-19 22:30