WazirX Exploiter Converts $235 Million Theft to Nearly 60K Ethereum

By: Isha Das

On-chain data reveals that the exploiter behind the recent $235 million WazirX hack has converted a significant portion of the stolen assets into Ethereum. The Indian cryptocurrency exchange suffered the massive breach on July 18, with blockchain investigators suggesting the attack was carried out by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.

Despite immediate measures by WazirX to mitigate the theft, most of the stolen funds have already been laundered into Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization. Blockchain analyst Lookonchain reported that the attacker has converted the stolen assets into 43,800 ETH, valued at approximately $149.46 million, bringing the total ETH held by the exploiter to 59,097 ETH, worth about $201.67 million.

Observers note that this conversion likely employs sophisticated money laundering techniques, possibly involving crypto mixing services like Tornado Cash, to obfuscate transaction trails. The exploiter’s address still contains around $15 million in other lesser-known digital assets, including 1.66 billion DENT tokens worth $1.56 million and 6.76 million CHR tokens valued at $1.72 million. Recently, the on-chain data also showed the exploiter sent 7.7 million DENT (worth $7,300) to a new Binance deposit address.

Response and Security Measures

In response to the attack, WazirX promptly filed an official police complaint and reported the breach to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). According to a post-mortem report from WazirX, the affected wallet used the services of Liminal, a digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure provider. The report revealed discrepancies between the transaction data on Liminal’s interface and the actual signed transaction content, leading to a breach where the wallet control was transferred to the attacker.

WazirX labeled the attack as a “force majeure” event, indicating it was beyond their control, but assured users that they are actively working to recover the stolen funds. The complex nature of the hack underscores the need for meticulous security measures and collaborative efforts within the crypto industry to safeguard digital assets.