WazirX Halts Trading Following $230 Million Exploit, Offers Bounty for Recovered Funds

Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has paused trading across its platform following a $230 million exploit, resulting from a private key compromise. The exchange has announced a bounty for assistance in recovering the stolen funds.

Points

• WazirX halted trading after a $230 million exploit.
• The hack involved a private key compromise, draining multiple tokens.
• Evidence suggests the North Korean Lazarus Group may be responsible.
• WazirX is offering a bounty for assistance in recovering the funds.

Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has temporarily paused trading on its platform in response to a significant exploit that resulted in $230 million being drained from its wallets. The hack, which occurred on July 18, involved a private key compromise, leading to the theft of over $100 million worth of Shiba Inu, along with millions of dollars worth of MATIC, PEPE, USDT, and GALA tokens.

Evidence suggests that the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group may be behind the attack. WazirX is conducting a thorough forensic data examination and security audit procedures while working to enable withdrawals soon. The exchange emphasized that user safety remains their top priority.

In response to the hack, WazirX has launched a bounty program to track and recover the stolen funds. Initially offering 5% of the recovered funds as an incentive, the reward was later doubled to 10% following feedback from blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. The exchange is also offering up to $10,000 worth of USDT for actionable intelligence that leads to the freezing of the funds.

ZachXBT noted that recoveries from hacks involving the Lazarus Group are incredibly rare. When $30 million was recovered from the $600 million Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge hack in September 2022, it marked the first successful seizure of funds linked to North Korea’s hacking group. Despite the challenges, WazirX remains hopeful that their efforts will lead to the recovery of the stolen assets.

Explanation

• WazirX paused trading due to a major exploit, resulting in significant financial losses.
• The hack involved a private key compromise, with evidence pointing to the North Korean Lazarus Group.
• WazirX is offering a substantial bounty to incentivize the recovery of stolen funds.
• Recovering funds from the Lazarus Group is challenging, but previous successes offer some hope.