Hacker Starts Laundering $234M Stolen From India’s WazirX Crypto Exchange

By Thea Felicity

Sep 04 2024, 09:20 AM EDT

In this picture taken on November 23, 2021 a worker talks on his phone on the backdrop of the cryptocurrency symbol pasted on a glass partition at the entrance of a private office in Bangalore. - Between 15 and 20 million people in Asia's third-largest economy are estimated to own cryptocurrencies, according to industry body the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC). - TO GO WITH 'India-Politics-Economy-Cryptocurrencies' by Nivrita GANGULY. MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP via Getty Images

The hacker responsible for stealing $234 million from the WazirX cryptocurrency exchange in India has started laundering the stolen money. According to Bloomberg, the hacker transferred 2,500 Ether tokens, worth about $6.3 million, to Tornado Cash, a service used to obscure the origin of cryptocurrency. It came shortly after WazirX's founder Nischal Shetty briefed on efforts toward recovering the funds.

As shared by The Economic Times, blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence tracked the movement of the stolen crypto, indicating how tough the task of recovering digital assets is.

The hack affected more than 4 million WazirX users and further dented the confidence in Indian crypto exchanges that are already facing challenges with high transaction taxes imposed by the government.

Details regarding how the hack happened and information about the attacker remain unidentified.

The Hacker Behind $234 million Stolen WazirX Crypto

Bitcoinist reported that there are indications that the hacker may be connected to North Korea, which has made foreign income from cyberattacks.

Experts believe that some users may receive up to 57% of their lost crypto, which will not be a guarantee.

Frustrated WazirX customers poured out with angry messages on social media. Unfortunately, the ongoing crypto crisis is not receiving much attention in India because the country is currently focused on a booming stock market.

At the moment, WazirX's parent company, Zettai Pte, has begun a legal process in Singapore to reorganize its business, likely to address financial or operational challenges. However, a two-year dispute between WazirX and Binance, over who actually owns WazirX, has made it difficult to attract new investors.