Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Hacked, Resulting in $230 Million Theft

WazirX, India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a significant security breach resulting in the theft of over $230 million in digital assets. The breach, which was detected early on July 18, affected one of the exchange's multisig wallets. This incident led to the unauthorized withdrawal of a substantial amount of cryptocurrency, including a large portion of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) token.

WazirX, known for its dominance in the Indian market and its registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), confirmed the breach in a post on X.com. The company stated, "We're 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. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We'll keep you posted with further updates."

The breach has caused a notable decline in the value of WazirX's native WRX token, reflecting the widespread impact of the theft on the exchange's overall stability. The timing of this breach is particularly critical as the Indian government is intensifying its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector. As Fazzaco previously covered, Binance has been fined approximately $2.2 million for providing services to Indian clients without adhering to the nation's anti-money laundering rules​.