As a seasoned cybersecurity analyst with extensive experience in blockchain forensics, I find the recent hack on Indian crypto exchange WazirX particularly intriguing. The fact that over $200 million worth of stolen assets have been converted to Ethereum (ETH) raises some interesting questions and potential implications for the broader crypto community.
Stolen funds from the July 18 hack on Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX are currently being exchanged for Ether.
According to the data monitored by SpotOnChain’s on-chain tracker, an attacker is reported to have transformed approximately $200 million of stolen assets into Ethereum (ETH). Notably, the blacklisted wallet in question currently holds around 59,097 ETH as of publication.
Approximately 15,298 Ether units were taken directly from WazirX’s multisig wallet, accompanied by around 200 distinct cryptocurrencies. Among these were:
The majority of these assets have been exchanged for Ethereum, leaving the wallet with approximately $11 million in value of alternative coins like Chromia (CHR), Celer Network (CELR), Frontier (FRONT), and Ooki (OOKI).
According to blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain, the hacker transferred 7.7 million DENT tokens into a Binance wallet that had previously remained inactive.
Lakov Levin, the co-founder of Rivo, spoke with crypto.news and shared his belief that the hacker exchanged the stolen ERC-20 tokens for Ethereum because of its extensive liquidity. He further emphasized that unlike stablecoins, Ethereum cannot be blocked in a similar manner.
ERC-20 tokens provide contract owners with a function to manage a list of addresses that are disallowed from engaging in token transactions. This is usually accomplished through a mapping feature in the smart contract. Before executing any transfer, the contract verifies this prohibited list and thus prevents any interaction with the blacklisted addresses.
Instead of ETH, which is based on the immutable Ethereum protocol, cannot be adjusted to change the access permissions of addresses.
As a crypto investor, I can relate to Akhsay Nassa’s perspective on the recent hack at Chimp DEX. In simpler terms, it seems the hacker is trying to act swiftly and seize opportunities before regulatory actions freeze the stolen funds.
In a vibrant and bustling marketplace, Ethereum facilitates swift and equitable transactions. Additionally, it offers numerous interoperable bridges and exchanges between various blockchains, adding another layer of complexity to any potential trail of activity.
The assault on the exchange was instigated by a flaw in its wallet management system that was cleverly exploited. There were inconsistencies in the data presented for Liminal, the firm responsible for digital asset safekeeping and wallet services for the exchange.
“Based on our investigation, it appears that the attacker managed to swap out the original payload with one intended to seize control of the affected wallets.”
During the investigation, cryptocurrency detective ZachXBT proposed a theory suggesting North Korea’s Lazarus group could be implicated. Likewise, blockchain analysis company Elliptic reached a comparable finding.
WazirX halted withdrawals for both crypto and fiat and has vowed to recover the funds.
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2024-07-19 13:50