India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, lost almost half of its reserves overnight. According to WazirX, the cybercriminal group Lazarus orchestrated the attack, which stole nearly $230 million of the investor’s holdings. After this incident, WazirX temporarily halted the Indian rupee (INR) Withdrawals and cryptocurrency transfers while investigating the incident.
The company confirmed this through its X (formerly Twitter) account: “We’re aware that one of our multi-sig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident.” They also added, “To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused.”
According to the company’s preliminary investigation, the attack stemmed from discrepancies in data displayed on, WaxirX’s wallet custody service provider, Liminal’s interface and the transaction’s contents.. However, the custodian reverted that there was no breach in their ecosystem, which WazirX later confirmed in their official statement.
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“Our preliminary investigations show that one of the self-custody multisig smart contract wallets created outside the Liminal ecosystem has been compromised. Further, we can confirm that Liminal’s platform has not been breached and that Liminal’s infrastructure, wallets, and assets continue to remain safe.” Said the company in their official statement.
Cryptocurrency Stolen From WazirX
According to the report submitted by Lookchain, more than 200 cryptocurrencies have been stolen from the WazirX wallets. Lookchain is a third-party blockchain explorer that states that more than 5.43 billion SHIB tokens, 20.5 million matic tokens, and 640 billion Pepe tokens were also stolen. Further, it mentioned that 15,200 Ethereum tokens, 5.79 million USDT, and 135 million Gala tokens were stolen from the exchange.
What About WazirX’s Rival?
The company’s biggest rivals, CoinSwitch and CoinDCX, released a statement claiming there was no trace of a breach in their ecosystem. They assured their customers of the security protocols and standards. Further, Ashish Singhal, co-founder and chief executive of PeepalCo, the group holding firm of CoinSwitch, advises crypto investors to be mindful and cautious while engaging in trading and investing activities.
