The cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, once the largest platform in India, has made significant strides in its efforts to recover stolen assets from the 230 million USD hack in July 2024. After 4 months of investigation and legal coordination, #WazirX successfully froze 3 million USD in USDT.
The asset recovery journey
The cyber attack on WazirX resulted in a loss of 45% of the exchange's reserves, with ERC-20 tokens on the $ETH network being the primary targets. Immediately after the incident, WazirX initiated investigations and obtained a temporary order from the Supreme Court of Singapore to suspend payment obligations for 4 months to proceed with debt restructuring.
In September 2024, analysts from Arkham Intelligence tracked around 50 million USD in stolen assets transferred through Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing tool that helps attackers launder money. The largest transfer, worth approximately 10 million USD in ETH, was recorded on September 25.
Efforts for transparency and international cooperation
In October 2024, WazirX commits to publicly disclose information about 240,000 wallet addresses and balances to enhance transparency during the restructuring process.
This incident also attracted international attention when a joint statement from the US, Japan, and South Korea accused the attack of being linked to North Korea and the hacking group #LazarusGroup . The statement emphasized that such cyberattacks threaten the stability of the global financial system and warned that the stolen funds could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The biggest hacks of 2024
The WazirX hack ranks third among the largest cyberattacks of 2024, following:
DMM Bitcoin: 308 million USD.
PlayDapp: 290 million USD.
Conclusion
With this significant progress, WazirX is gradually restoring trust from users and the crypto industry. However, the incident also emphasizes the need for stronger security solutions to protect assets in a high-risk field.#anhbacong