WazirX To Offer Bounty To Recover Stolen Assets

As a long-term crypto investor and user of WazirX, I was shocked and dismayed to hear about the massive security breach that occurred on July 18, resulting in the theft of $234.9 Million worth of assets. The incident left me feeling vulnerable as a user, and it’s concerning to see such a significant amount stolen from one of India’s largest crypto exchanges.


Following the shocking discovery that hackers had infiltrated WazirX crypto exchange and made off with approximately $234 million, which represents half of the investors’ holdings, the exchange’s founders have launched a reward initiative to retrieve the pilfered assets.

On July 18, it was revealed that WazirX, India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a significant security breach in its multisig wallet. As a result, hackers managed to steal approximately $234.9 million in assets. In response to this incident, WazirX temporarily suspended all withdrawals and notified their users that they are cooperating with law enforcement agencies for an investigation.

Last Saturday, Nischal Shetty, the co-founder of WazirX, made an announcement on their platform about launching a “reward scheme” aimed at retrieving the stolen assets valued at approximately $234.9 million.

“Shetty announced that we’re launching a reward scheme to assist in the recovery or securing of stolen assets. We’ve engaged with several teams professing expertise in tracking funds, and are actively communicating with them. All relevant exchanges have been notified, with some already cooperating and others still being contacted. Their collaboration will be essential as the ill-gotten funds transfer. Simultaneously, we’re examining data to assess the magnitude of the issue and progressing with additional law enforcement and regulatory measures.”

The WazirX team is actively advancing plans for the next phase. This includes:

— Nischal (Shardeum) 🔼 (@NischalShetty) July 20, 2024

Shetty advocated for unity among the global crypto community, including India, in response to the unexpected cyber attack on their platform. He expressed that if we collaborate as an ecosystem, we can discover a solution that will preserve the values of Web3 communities and instill optimism for future participants in this domain.

As a cryptocurrency analyst, I’d rephrase that as: On July 18, WazirX’s reported hacking attempt grabbed headlines globally, and in response, Arkham Intel announced an initial bounty on Twitter. Soon after, crypto detective ZachXBT declared he had traced a KYC exchange deposit related to the heist. Simultaneously, Elliptic, a renowned blockchain analysis firm, pointed fingers at North Korean hacking group Lazurus for their suspected involvement in the incident.

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2024-07-20 12:20