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WazirX, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in India, is now in the headlines due to a major cyber-attack that has alarmed its future. Being a major player in India's crypto market, WazirX has stopped the withdrawals after the breach which now has worried people about its financial sustainability. The situation is terrible with the loss calculated as much as US$230 million, the begs arise if WazirX is on the brink of collapse. This article narrates the specifics of the cyber attack, the impacts on the crypto market, and the overall effect on blockchain security will be the focus.
WazirX had a serious security breach on July 18 that led to the suspension of withdrawals from its platform. Reporting the hack as a "force majeure event," the company which calls itself 'India Ka Bitcoin Exchange' admitted that they had no control over the intrusion. A statement made public on X (previously Twitter) claims that the hack resulted in US$230 million in damage. This is especially concerning because, as of June, WazirX claimed to have reserves of over US$500 million, meaning that the sum that was taken represented nearly half of its reserves.
There was a stated mismatch between the transaction details and the data that Liminal's interface showed, which led to the cyberattack. WazirX believes that the attacker may have changed the payload to take control of the wallets. One of the biggest breaches in recent memory, this one is noteworthy and exposes major weaknesses in the security of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Lookchain reports describe the stolen assets, indicating the extent of the heist. 5.43 billion SHIB tokens, more than 15,200 Ethereum tokens, 20.5 million Matic tokens, 640 billion Pepe tokens, 5.79 million USDT, and 135 million Gala tokens were among the coins that were taken. WazirX is not the only entity impacted by this enormous loss; the whole cryptocurrency market is also impacted.
CoinSwitch and CoinDCX, WazirX's two main competitors, have guaranteed their users that their money is unharmed. Both Ashish Singhal of CoinSwitch and Sumit Gupta, CEO of CoinDCX, have stressed the security of their systems and urged prudence in light of possible market turbulence.
The attack's investigators have determined that hackers from North Korea are to blame. According to reports from specialists in Blockchain, such as Elliptic, the breach was carried out via a leaked private key that opened a multi-signature wallet. The widespread theft was made possible by the stolen key, which allowed a safe wallet to be upgraded to a malicious contract.
WazirX's previous global partner, Binance, adds another level of difficulty to the equation. Following a well-publicized falling out between the two businesses in 2022, Binance formally severed its ties with WazirX in early 2023. WazirX's recovery attempts have been made more difficult by the fact that it must now handle the situation on its own following this split.
The cryptocurrency exchange WazirX is particularly exposed, due to a recent cyberattack that has created concerns about its possible bankruptcy. WazirX's future remains uncertain because a large portion of its reserves have been stolen, and the incident is still under investigation. The case points out the weak points in the security of cryptocurrency exchanges and along with it, the wider consequences of the technology of blockchain and currency in general.
