Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX saw $230 million in suspicious withdrawals, mostly $100 million SHIB

A security breach in a multi-signature wallet on Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has resulted in the loss of user funds and withdrawals of more than $230 million, according to a post on the exchange's X platform. The attackers are actively selling stolen tokens, including $100 million worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) and $52 million worth of Ether, to be traded on the on-chain exchange Uniswap.

The stolen funds represented more than 45 percent of the total reserves mentioned in the exchange's June 2024 report.

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX experienced a security breach on Thursday morning in Europe that affected one of its wallets, resulting in the loss of user funds and withdrawals of more than $230 million.

"We are aware of a security breach in one of our multi-signature wallets," the exchange confirmed in a post on the X platform. "Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, withdrawals of INR and cryptocurrencies will be temporarily suspended."

A follow-up post by WazirX, a few hours after the initial confirmation, identified the provider of the multi-signature wallet as cryptocurrency custodian firm Liminal.

The stolen funds represented more than 45 percent of the exchange's $500 million holdings, an amount the exchange disclosed in its June report.

As of this writing, the Indian Exchange's real-time Reserve Proof website is undergoing maintenance. A multi-signature wallet is a type of cryptocurrency wallet that requires two or more private keys to verify and confirm a transaction before it is processed.

According to early blockchain data tracked by Lookonchain, more than $100 million in SHIB tokens were withdrawn, the most of any lost funds, followed by $52 million in Ether (ETH), $11 million in MATIC, and $6 million in pepe (PEPE).