This article comes to you with the generous support of Betplay.io. Discover the excitement and rewards that await you at Betplay.io with a 100% welcome bonus and 10% weekly cashback!Major Security Breach at WazirX ExchangeOn July 18, 2024, WazirX, one of India's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, suffered a significant security breach. The hack resulted in the theft of approximately $234.9 million in various cryptocurrencies, marking one of the largest incidents of its kind in recent history. The attack was facilitated through Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused mixer, making it challenging to trace the transactions. Cyvers Alerts, a blockchain security platform, detected multiple suspicious transactions involving WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet on the Ethereum network, bringing the breach to light.ALERTHey @WazirXIndia, Our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving your Safe Multisig wallet on the #ETH network.A total of $234.9M of your funds have been moved to a new address. Each transaction's caller is funded by @TornadoCash.The suspicious… pic.twitter.com/4sajAwd4Hb— Cyvers Alerts (@CyversAlerts) July 18, 2024 The stolen assets include a staggering $102 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB), equating to 5.43 trillion SHIB tokens. Ethereum (ETH) worth $52.5 million, or 15,298 ETH, was also taken. Additionally, $11.24 million in Polygon (20.5 million MATIC), $7.6 million in Pepe (640.27 billion PEPE), $5.79 million in Tether (USDT), and $3.5 million in Gala (135 million GALA) were among the cryptocurrencies stolen. The hackers also made off with $4.7 million in Floki (FLOKI), $3.2 million in Fantom (FTM), $2.8 million in Chainlink (LINK), and $2.3 million in Fetch.ai (FET).Update:#WazirX has ~$230M in assets stolen. Including:5.43T $SHIB($102M)15,298 $ETH($52.5M)20.5M $MATIC($11.24M)640.27B $PEPE($7.6M)5.79M $USDT135M $GALA($3.5M)...Please note that the hacker is selling these assets!https://t.co/1uOozAVeM1 https://t.co/ogtVSFITK9 pic.twitter.com/3vPmxqXwbL— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 18, 2024 WazirX swiftly responded to the security breach by temporarily suspending withdrawals. However, the hacker had already begun liquidating some of the stolen assets. Specifically, the wallet identified as 0x04b dumped $7.6 million worth of PEPE and swapped GALA and USDT to ETH. Update: We're aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused. Thank you for your patience and understanding.…— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) July 18, 2024 The hacker transferred part of the funds to two other wallets, 0x90c…F91Fd and 0x35f…745CA, for further dumping.Source: ArkhamWeb3 Analyst Bradley Park at CryptoQuant provided critical insights, noting the 5.4 trillion SHIB taken off the exchange could be sold for Ethereum at any moment. 5.4T $SHIB has been taken from the WazirX exchange.These assets are likely to be sold for #Ethereum at any time. pic.twitter.com/pI5qrKXA5w— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) July 18, 2024 0x04b sent 1.801 trillion SHIB to wallet 0x35f, which sold 201 billion SHIB and transferred 1.6 trillion SHIB to a new wallet dubbed 0x231…cf9b4. Wallet 0x231 continued the selling spree, liquidating 600 billion SHIB and distributing 1 trillion SHIB to three different wallets, with only one still holding a small amount of SHIB.Source: Mest.ioThe market impact of this hack has been profound. Shiba Inu's price dropped approximately 10%, falling to $0.00001720. Analysts predict a potential further decline of up to 25% by the end of July as 0x04b still holds 3.633 trillion SHIB, which could drive the price down to $0.00001263. Source: ArkhamBitcoin was also affected, with the BTC/INR pair declining by 11% to 5.1 million rupees ($60,945). This figure was notably lower compared to other exchanges like CoinDCX, where BTC traded at 5.7 million rupees. On the global stage, BTC's average price was at $61,800 before reclaiming $65,000.This hack comes at a time when the Indian crypto community is already under significant regulatory scrutiny. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India has blocked URLs of several foreign crypto exchanges, including Binance, for non-compliance with local anti-money laundering (AML) policies. The regulatory environment in India has also been tough on local exchanges, with a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on each transaction leading to decreased trading volumes. Many retail customers are opting for foreign exchanges to avoid these taxes, further complicating the situation. ConclusionThis incident highlights the vulnerabilities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, emphasizing the need for robust security measures and regulatory compliance. As the investigation continues, the crypto community watches closely, awaiting further developments and hoping for a resolution that can restore confidence in the affected markets. FAQs1: What happened to WazirX on July 18, 2024?WazirX suffered a major security breach resulting in the theft of $234.9 million in various cryptocurrencies. The hack was facilitated through Tornado Cash, making transaction tracing difficult.2: Which cryptocurrencies were stolen?The stolen assets include $102 million in Shiba Inu, $52.5 million in Ethereum, $11.24 million in Polygon, and several others. Notable amounts were also taken in Pepe, Tether, Gala, Floki, Fantom, Chainlink, and Fetch.ai.3: How did WazirX respond to the breach?WazirX temporarily suspended withdrawals and moved the compromised funds to a new address. However, the hacker had already begun liquidating some stolen assets.4: What was the market impact of this hack?Shiba Inu's price dropped by 10% to $0.00001720, with predictions of further decline. Bitcoin was also affected, with the BTC/INR pair declining by 11% to 5.1 million rupees.This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.