WazirX Restoring Account Balances to What They Were Before the $230 Million Hack

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX announced plans to restore all user account balances to their state as of July 18, 2024, at 1 PM IST, when the exchange lost $230 million to attackers.

According to the Aug. 8 announcement, this measure is in response to a severe cyberattack that occurred that day, causing significant disruptions to the platform's operations and user activities. WazirX lost over $230 million to the attackers, who some believe to be North Korean state-sponsored actors.

Responsibility for the attack's success is far from clear. WazirX suggested that hackers compromised the systems of its custody service provider, Liminal. On the other hand, Liminal decidedly refuted those claims and indicated that the exchange was compromised.

The decision nullifies all trades and transactions on the platform over multiple days. WazirX officials stated that this action is necessary to ensure equitable treatment of all users affected by the "abnormality" resulting from the cyberattack.

WazirX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.

“We are constrained to restore the balances of all accounts and undo all trades carried out on the WazirX platform following the stoppage of withdrawals on 18 July 2024, 1 PM IST,” the exchange announced.

According to the official statement, restoration will occur over the next few days. Affected users will receive email notifications detailing the reversed trades. This move will impact cryptocurrency balances and Indian rupee (INR) holdings, as all crypto-to-INR and INR-to-crypto transactions during the specified period will be undone as well.

The exchange has temporarily halted all trading and withdrawal activities while the restoration is underway. This suspension of services is expected to continue until the process is complete, though no specific timeline has been provided.

The company has confirmed that all fees and referrals associated with the affected trades will be reversed. Any tax deducted at source related to these transactions will be credited back to the users' accounts.

WazirX has stated that these transactions have been noted and will be addressed in a future update for users who deposited funds or cryptocurrencies during the affected period.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.