The individual responsible for India’s largest crypto theft, involving $234 million stolen from the WazirX exchange, has started laundering the stolen assets. On the same day that WazirX’s Dubai-based founder, Nischal Shetty, provided an update on efforts to recover the funds, the hacker moved 2,500 Ether tokens, worth approximately $6.3 million, to Tornado Cash. This service, which is under sanctions, obscures the origins of crypto assets.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence identified the transactions, highlighting the challenges in recovering the stolen digital assets. Over 4 million users were affected by the hack, which could further diminish trust in Indian crypto exchanges, already hampered by a transaction tax.
Details about the vulnerability exploited in the July incident and the hacker’s identity remain unclear. However, blockchain experts at Elliptic have traced a pattern similar to attacks linked to North Korea, which is known for using cyberattacks to generate foreign revenue. During a briefing, Shetty noted that some of the top researchers believe the attack bears striking similarities to those connected to North Korea. He also mentioned that users may recover up to 57% of the lost cryptocurrency.
WazirX’s parent company, Zettai Pte, has initiated restructuring in Singapore. Meanwhile, an ongoing two-year dispute with Binance, the world’s largest digital-asset exchange, over WazirX’s ownership complicates the possibility of a bailout by an outside investor.
Disgruntled customers in India have taken to social media to express their anger, while a historic domestic stock market rally captures the attention of other investors.
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