Indian exchange WazirX undoes trades and halts activities to address major security breach, ensuring user trust and stability.
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX is taking significant steps to address the aftermath of a major security breach that occurred on July 18, 2024. The company has announced plans to undo all trades and restore user account balances to their state before the hack, which resulted in the unauthorized transfer of over $230 million in crypto assets.
On July 18, 2024, WazirX suffered a wallet exploit that targeted the exchange's multisig wallet on Ethereum. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the attack was likely conducted by hackers affiliated with North Korea. This breach led to significant disruptions, including a freeze on withdrawals and a loss of over $230 million in crypto assets.
In response to the hack, WazirX plans to restore all user portfolio balances to their status as of July 18, 2024, at 3:30 a.m. ET. This restoration process will nullify all trades and transactions made after the attack, impacting both cryptocurrency and Indian rupee holdings. The company has stated that this action will be conducted "over the next few days."
The restoration process includes reversing any fees, referrals, and taxes deducted at source. This means that users will not be financially penalized for transactions that occurred after the hack. WazirX aims to ensure that all affected users are made whole again, as if the hack never happened.
During the restoration process, trading and withdrawal activities on the WazirX platform are temporarily halted. This measure is necessary to ensure the accurate restoration of account balances and to prevent further complications. Affected users will be notified via email once the restoration is complete and normal operations can resume.
Initially, WazirX announced a "socialized loss strategy" through a social media poll, which proposed distributing the losses among users. However, this approach received significant backlash from the community. As a result, the company decided to restore balances instead, prioritizing user trust and satisfaction.
