WazirX Successfully Saves Part Of Hackers' Gased Funds

The WazirX crypto exchange has frozen the funds that were hacked. (Photo; Doc. WazirX)

JAKARTA - The crypto asset exchange from India, WazirX, recently helped prevent cybercrime by freezing USDT crypto assets. As reported by CNBC on Saturday, January 18, WazirX managed to freeze digital assets worth US$3 million in USDT stablecoins (equivalent to Rp 48.6 billion).

This fund was previously stolen by hackers. This success has become a breath of fresh air for WazirX after experiencing a massive cyber attack last year. This step also shows that WazirX is serious about protecting its users and continues to strengthen the security system amidst the growing dynamics of the crypto industry.

The success of restoring some of these funds cannot be separated from the slick cooperation between WazirX and various parties, ranging from law enforcement officials, digital forensic experts, to the relevant legal authorities. WazirX founder Nischal Shetty emphasized that her party continues to seek the best way to track and restore stolen assets for the sake of justice for the harmed users.

Jason Kardachi, Managing Director and one of the leaders of the Global Restructuring Practice on Kroll, added that the combination of digital investigations (forensic on-chain) and legal steps against the parties involved are the key to this success. This effort is also part of WazirX's restructuring plan to recover user losses while tightening the security system so that similar incidents do not happen again.

The Beginning Of Hacking

The hacking incident began in July 2024, when WazirX announced a security gap in one of its digital wallets. As a result, this exchange lost more than $230 million worth of crypto assets. Investigators in the United States, South Korea, and Japan strongly suspect that this attack was masterminded by a hacking group from North Korea.

The digital wallet that was attacked actually used a digital custodian infrastructure from Liminal, which is equipped with a layered security system, such as a multiple signature (multi-signature) and a registered destination address (whitelist address). However, the hackers managed to find loopholes in the transaction data and take control of the wallet. After this incident, WazirX decided to end the collaboration with Liminal.

On the other hand, CoinSwitch, another major crypto exchange in India, launched a program titled "CoinSwitch Cares" with an allocation of USD 69.9 million (approximately IDR 1.1 trillion) to help affected WazirX users. However, this program has drawn criticism and is considered a mere marketing strategy, instead of providing concrete solutions.