Indian exchange WazirX loses $234m in recent exploit

WazirX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in India by trade volume, is the latest victim of a high-profile exploit, losing over $234 million in multiple crypto assets.

Cyvers, a leading web3 security resource, spotlighted the breach earlier today, confirming that it involved WazirX’s Ethereum-based multi-signature wallet. Notably, on-chain data confirms that the losses have amounted to $234.9 million at the reporting time.

Per Etherscan data, the hack began today at 06:19 UTC, with the first transaction involving the movement of 4.1 Gnosis (GNO) from a WazirX wallet to the exploiters’ address. The hackers have since siphoned multiple assets, including meme coins Pepe (PEPE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

Several addresses have been created to mask the funds, with the exploiters moving them across these addresses and ultimately swapping the tokens for Ethereum (ETH) using Uniswap V3. So far, three addresses identified to belong to the hackers still hold these funds.

Notably, the primary address involved in the exploit currently holds 15,296 ETH valued at $52.5 million, with the rest of its holdings amounting to $25.1 million across more than 100 tokens. Floki (FLOKI) makes up the second-largest single holding, with a balance worth $4.7 million.

At the reporting time, there is little information on the cause of the hack. WazirX confirmed the breach in an X disclosure minutes ago, stating that its security team is investigating the exploit. The exchange noted that it had suspended withdrawals in crypto and Indian rupees (INR) to safeguard customer assets.

The recent exploit is the latest in a series of incidents recorded in recent times across the crypto scene. Two days back, decentralized cross-chain protocol LI.FI suffered an exploit, losing over $8 million. A recent report indicated that hack incidents led to a combined loss of $176.2 million in June.