By Godfrey Benjamin
Edited by Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 min read
Since the hack happened, the exchange has carried out several processes to restore its users’ funds and prevent a recurrence.
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has made an intentional effort to ensure that its system returns to normal after the hack that occurred some weeks back. The crypto firm recently shared an update on X, informing affected users that it is nearing the completion of restoring their balances, precisely for those trades that happened between 18 and 21 July.
By now, WazirX has decided to restore the balances for trades within the period as revealed. WazirX seeks to undo all trades on its platform after it halted withdrawals on 18 July 2024 at 1 PM IST.
WazirX suffered a significant security breach in July, resulting in the theft of roughly $235 million. The stolen assets include Tether (USDT), Pepe (PEPE), and Gala (GALA), but they later got converted to Ethereum (ETH) just before the US SEC approved spot Ethereum ETF trading.
According to Web3.0 security firm Cyvers, the perpetrator transferred $234.9 million from WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet to a new address in several transactions.
Shortly after the scammer carried out his fraudulent activities, he moved $57 million worth of stolen Ethereum to new cryptocurrency wallets, which looked like an attempt to launder the stolen assets.
Since the hack happened, the exchange has carried out several processes to restore its users’ funds and prevent a recurrence. The Indian exchange even halted withdrawal on its platform and launched two bounty programs. The first, the “track and freeze” bounty, offers up to $10,000 in USDT for information that leads to freezing the stolen assets. The second is the “white hat recovery” bounty.
This second bounty program rewards ethical hackers up to 10% of the amount they help recover. In less than a week after the hack, 54 white hat hackers signed up for the recovery program. However, WazirX confirms that the number has grown to 344 bounty hunters, including security professionals and ethical hackers.
When it first announced its potential restoration process in the first week of August, the firm noted that it would reverse all trades conducted after 1 PM IST on the day of the attack. WazirX also planned to reverse any fees and referral bonuses linked to the trades executed between July 18 and July 2, hence its latest development.
👋 tribe! Here's an update on what we're actively working on:
» We are nearing the completion of restoring the balances for trades that happened between 18 and 21 July. This will undo all trades carried out on the WazirX platform following the stoppage of withdrawals on 18 July… pic.twitter.com/dptr6LHU5m
— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) August 13, 2024
WazirX is still in talks with its legal experts, seeking advice on effectively and efficiently restoring withdrawal on the platform. The exchange has contacted several partners to help mitigate the financial impact of the exploit.
It confirmed that thus far, it has made progress with seven of these partners.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalist who relishes writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desire to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain media and sites.
