On July 18, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, confirmed a major security breach that resulted in the theft of over $230 million (₹19.23+ billion) in digital assets. The affected cryptocurrencies include Shiba Inu (SHIB), Ethereum (ETH), Matic, and several others. The incident has caused the value of WazirX’s (WRX) token to plummet, raising concerns about security in the cryptocurrency space.

Signs of North Korean Hacking
According to analysis by blockchain forensics firm Elliptic, the attack has several signs of North Korean involvement. The attackers used decentralized platforms to convert the stolen assets into Ethereum, making it difficult to track and recover the assets.

Initial reports from WazirX indicate that the hacked wallets were using Liminal’s digital asset custody infrastructure since last year. The attack exploited a security vulnerability in the system, allowing hackers to bypass the protection of multisig wallets. This type of wallet requires multiple private keys or signatures to approve transactions, which is considered one of the important security measures. However, Liminal has denied that its system was compromised.

WazirX suspends trading to protect users
Shortly after the incident, WazirX made an announcement on the X platform, confirming that its team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of users’ assets, the exchange has temporarily suspended all withdrawals in INR and cryptocurrencies. In addition, the development team is also focusing on identifying the exploited smart contracts and finding ways to recover the stolen assets.

WazirX is committed to maintaining transparency and will continuously update information on the incident handling process, in order to restore community confidence in the platform.