WazirX, one of India’s largest exchanges, has received 80 intentions from individuals to help recover stolen Shiba Inu tokens and other assets. Following the recent hack, the exchange announced a bounty program aimed at recovering $230 million in stolen assets, including $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Bounty Program Details
WazirX rolled out a two-part bounty program. The first part, “track and freeze,” offers up to $10,000 for information that helps freeze the assets. The second part, “white hat recovery,” seeks the help of ethical hackers. Participants in this program can earn up to 10% of the amount they help recover. Due to community feedback, WazirX recently increased the total reward cap to $23 million. The bounty program will run for three months from the announcement date. On X (formerly Twitter), WazirX called on white hat hackers and cybersecurity experts worldwide to join this mission. So far, the exchange has received 80 white hat hackers’ applications.
The WazirX Attack
On July 18, WazirX faced a major cyberattack, losing funds in several cryptocurrencies. The stolen assets included around $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens. The incident caused an 8.5% drop in SHIB’s value. Other stolen funds included $52 million in Ether (ETH), $11 million in Polygon (MATIC), and $13 million in cryptocurrencies like FLOKI, Chainlink (LINK), Fantom (FTM), and Fetch.ai (FET). Since the breach, the attacker has converted most stolen funds into Ether and transferred them to different wallets.
Impact on WazirX Operations
The cyberattack severely impacted WazirX’s ability to maintain a 1:1 collateral with assets. Consequently, the exchange temporarily paused all deposits and withdrawals on its platform. Additionally, trading activities were halted to allow for a comprehensive security audit. WazirX has not provided a specific timeline for resuming normal operations. However, the exchange has assured users it is actively working to enable fund withdrawals as soon as possible.
WazirX’s Global Efforts
Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX, stated that the exchange is reaching out to over 500 other exchanges globally to block the addresses associated with the stolen assets. This collaborative effort aims to recover the stolen funds and ensure the security of the platform.
In conclusion, WazirX’s proactive measures and the overwhelming response from white hat hackers demonstrate the community’s commitment to addressing the cyberattack. The bounty program highlights the importance of collective efforts in recovering stolen assets and enhancing cybersecurity in the crypto space.
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