Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Halts Withdrawals After $230 Million Breach

WazirX, a cryptocurrency exchange based in India, has confirmed a security breach which led to the unauthorized withdrawal of cryptocurrencies worth approximately $230 million.

In response to the incident, the exchange has temporarily halted both cryptocurrency and Indian Rupee (INR) withdrawals in an effort to secure user assets.

The breach was initially identified by cybersecurity firm Cyvers Alerts, which noted that large amounts of assets, including Pepe (PEPE), Gala (GALA), and Tether (USDT), were transferred from WazirX’s Multisig wallet to an external wallet.

Subsequently, it was reported that these assets were exchanged for ETH, with some of the funds being funnelled through Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer designed to obscure the origin of transactions.

On-chain data further revealed extensive asset conversions by the attacker, with large amounts of various cryptocurrencies being moved. Among these were $102 million of Shiba Inu (SHIB) and $11 million of MATIC tokens.

This is a developing story.