Breaking Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Halts Withdrawals After a $234.9 Million Hack

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX is under scrutiny after a transaction of $234.9 million to an unknown wallet . Blockchain security firm Cyvers first detected this transaction, which originated from WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet on the Ethereum network.

There are fears of a security breach because the new wallet was initially funded by the crypto mixer – Tornado Cash.

WazirX Suffered From a Hack?

Cyvers expressed concerns that the WazirX Safe wallet may have been compromised by a potentially malicious entity. After the transfer, the suspicious address began a series of cryptocurrency swaps.

“The suspicious address has already swapped PEPE, GALA, and USDT to $ETH and continues to swap other digital assets,” a Cyvers report noted .

This activity raises red flags, suggesting a possible attempt to launder the assets through various cryptocurrencies.

Read more: Crypto Project Security: A Guide to Early Threat Detection

Meanwhile, WazirX has yet to comment on the situation. The exchange’s absence of a response might indicate internal investigations or efforts to discreetly manage the issue. If confirmed as a hack, this event would be among the largest crypto hacks in 2024.

Moreover, Deddy Lavid, CEO of Cyvers, shared insights with BeInCrypto that hint at a notorious perpetrator.

“The use of TornadoCash to fund the transactions is indicative of methods used in previous high-profile attacks. While it is too early to definitively link this incident to the Lazarus Group, the similarities are concerning. Cyvers is closely analyzing the situation,” Lavid told BeInCrypto.

Lazarus, a well-known hacking group believed to be sponsored by North Korea, has been linked to several major cryptocurrency thefts. Notably, it is also responsible for stealing over $305 million from the Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin .