Indian crypto exchange WazirX on Thursday experienced a security breach on one of its wallets, reportedly resulting in the transfer of about $230 million to a different address.
A Web3 security firm, Cyvers, on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), said that a suspicious address had swapped virtual digital assets while continuing to transfer other digital assets.
WazirX confirmed the security breach on the platform. The firm has temporarily paused customer withdrawals.
“We are aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused,” the company said in a statement.
In response to the development, Sumit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer at crypto exchange CoinDCX, said users’ assets with the company remain safe.
“In light of the recent WazirX breach, we want to reassure all CoinDCX users that your assets are safe and not impacted in any manner. Our wallet security remains robust,” Gupta tweeted.
The security breach comes months after the finance ministry issued show-cause notices to nine offshore virtual digital assets service providers dealing with crypto assets.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the finance ministry in December last year issued the show-cause notices to VDA platforms like Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Kucoin for non-compliance with anti-money laundering law and requested the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block their websites.
Homegrown crypto firms had said they were working to create a channel to ensure crypto investors who have their investments with offshore exchanges can be transferred to domestic platforms.
First Published: Jul 18 2024 | 3:31 PM IST
