The hacker behind the $230 million WazirX heist has begun moving stolen funds using Tornado Cash, a service that masks wallet addresses. This major development follows the commencement of phase 2 of INR withdrawals for users of the hacked crypto exchange.
Incident Details
In July, WazirX lost over $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and $52 million in Ether, among other assets. The security breach drained around 45% of its reserves, and legal advisers estimate a potential loss of 43% of customer assets.
Impact on WazirX
As per the data shared by PeckShieldAlert, a WazirX exploiter-linked address moved 2600.1 Ether (worth $6.5 million) to Tornado Cash in multiple transactions. This service is often used by scammers and hackers to launder stolen crypto. The wallet address holds more than $155 million worth of different tokens, primarily in Ether. The ETH price jumped by over 3% in the last 24 hours, now trading at an average price of $2,519. The hacker's use of Tornado Cash to move and clean funds complicates recovery efforts. This heist has forced WazirX to file for restructuring to clear liabilities.
INR Operations
Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX, in an X post, announced that phase 2 of INR withdrawals began earlier than scheduled. All eligible users can now withdraw up to 66% of their INR balances. Originally set to start on September 9, 2024, the date was moved up for quicker access. The announcement followed a townhall with users discussing restructuring and a moratorium application. If approved, the moratorium would block any legal action against the exchange for six months, allowing for damage control and recovery proposals. Users continue to demand access to their frozen funds, though WazirX warns that a full recovery is unlikely.
The ongoing WazirX hack and subsequent use of Tornado Cash have posed significant challenges to the recovery efforts of the crypto exchange. The company is working on restructuring its liabilities and aims to restore user access to their funds as soon as possible.
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