By Blockchain News Desk | July 20, 2025
𧩠What happened
Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX confirmed on July 19â20 that it was hit by a $44.2âŻmillion (âč368â379 crore) cyberattack targeting an internal operational liquidity account, not customer wallets mint+7Mitrade+7CoinDesk+7The Economic Times+15Samayam Tamil+15www.ndtv.com+15. The breach took place early Saturday, and was flagged within ~17 hours by blockchain sleuths including ZachXBT mint+4Cryptonews+4AInvest+4.
đ How it unfolded
The attacker exploited a "sophisticated server breach" to access private keys linked to a hot wallet reserved for providing liquidity to a partner platform The Economic Times+9Cryptonews+9mint+9. Funds were quickly moved through mixers such as Tornado Cashâstarting with 1âŻETHâand bridged from Solana to Ethereum to obscure the trail mint+13Cointelegraph+13AInvest+13.
đ„ User safety & platform functionality
CoinDCX assured users that customer funds are completely safe, secured in segregated cold wallets; only the companyâs treasury was affected CoinDesk+15www.ndtv.com+15AInvest+15. Web3 trading was paused briefly as a precaution, but INR deposits, withdrawals, and core trading services remained uninterrupted mint+4AInvest+4www.ndtv.com+4.
đĄïž Exchange response
Founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal confirmed the fallout and pledged that CoinDCXâs treasury reserves would cover the loss Samayam Tamil+15www.ndtv.com+15The Economic Times+15. The company has engaged with cybersecurity firms and law enforcement, launched a bug bounty program, and is cooperating with forensic teams to trace, block, or recover stolen assets www.ndtv.com+6Mitrade+6mint+6.
Gupta also cautioned users on X (formerly Twitter):
âDonât panic, sell your assets⊠Let the markets settle. Stay calm, stay confident.â The Economic Times+3www.ndtv.com+3mint+3
đ Broader implications
This hack is the second major Indian exchange breach in a year, following WazirXâs $235âŻmillion exploit in July 2024 Cryptonews+9The Economic Times+9CoinDesk+9. It highlights persistent vulnerabilities in centralized crypto platforms, especially around hot wallets and server security Bitcoinist.com+9mint+9The Cryptonomist+9. Analysts say this incident intensifies calls for robust regulatory frameworks, multi-audit protocols, higher cyber hygiene standards, and cautious use of custodial services.
đ What to watch next
Recovery efforts: Can the blockchain forensics teams trace the stolen assets and execute recoveries?
Security upgrades: Are the planned bug bounties and system overhauls enough to bolster long-term resilience?
Regulatory momentum: Will Indian authorities accelerate crypto-specific regulations in response?
User behaviour: Will such incidents push more investors toward self-custody solutions?
â ïž Key Takeaways at a Glance
Factor Status
Funds lost$44.2 million, covered by CoinDCXreserves
User wallets Safe and unaffected
Services Web3 paused briefly; core service uninterrupted
Exchange response Bug bounty, forensic investigation, trace efforts
Industry context Second major Indian exchange hack in the past year
#HackAlert #DigitalAssets #CryptoAwareness #CoinDCXHack #CryptoBreach2025
