Fun

WazirX hacker funnels $149M of SHIB, MATIC other altcoins into ETH

News Feed - 2024-07-19 02:07:10

Brayden Lindrea3 hours agoWazirX hacker funnels $149M of SHIB, MATIC other altcoins into ETHBlockchain security firms say bad actors typically move altcoins into Ether to prepare for laundering, as the native token has no built-in means to get frozen.2693 Total views10 Total sharesListen to article 0:00Follow upOwn this piece of crypto historyCollect this article as NFTJoin us on social networksThe hacker behind the $235 million exploit of cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has converted nearly $150 million of altcoins to Ether — a move likely to avoid getting funds frozen or blacklisted. 


The mass conversion of funds to Ether across July 18-19 included $90.2 million worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB), $10.2 million in Polygon (MATIC) and nearly $7.5 million in Pepe (PEPE), according to blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain.


The transfers have now brought the total amount of stolen funds sitting in Ether (ETH) to $201 million, up from $52 million initially.Source:Spot On ChainA myriad of reasons to convert to Ether


The hacker likely transferred the ERC-20 tokens to Ether as it is far more liquid and cannot be blacklisted, Spot On Chain told Cointelegraph.“Some ERC20 tokens have a contract function to blacklist addresses, while ETH native token does not have such a feature.”


“Swapping to Ether quickly can help the hacker secure their funds before any preventative measures are taken by authorities or the issuers of centralized tokens,” added blockchain security firm PeckShield in comments to Cointelegraph.


A textbook example of this is stablecoin issuer Tether, which has blacklisted hundreds of wallets making suspicious transactions with USDT, Spot On Chain added.


Ether is also easier to launder through cryptocurrency exchanges and mixer protocols and its price is much more stable, said blockchain security firm Beosin.


The hack triggered a SHIB selloff, falling nearly 7% since the incident, while Ether’s price has only fallen 0.1%.


The hacker still has around $12 million worth of Chromia (CHR), Celer Network (CELR), Frontier (FRONT) and Ooki (OOKI) tokens, Spot On Chain noted in the X post.


Related:Li.Fi releases incident report following $11M hack


The Indian-based cryptocurrency exchange halted withdrawals on July 18 after the security breach resulted in nearly half of its reserves being wiped out, according to WarzirX’s June proof-of-reserves statement.


“This is a force majeure event beyond our control, but we are leaving no stone unturned to locate and recover the funds. We have already blocked a few deposits and reached out to concerned wallets for recovery,” WazirX posted to X.


Blockchain forensics firm Elliptic told Cointelegraph that specific patterns and techniques in the WazirX attack led them to believe North Korean hackers were behind the $235 million hack.


Magazine:WazirX hackers prepped 8 days before attack, swindlers fake fiat for USDT: Asia Express# Blockchain# Altcoin# India# Hackers# North Korea# Cybersecurity# Hacks# DeFiAdd reaction

News Feed

In-Between Bitcoin Halvings: Analyst Proves Bitcoin’s Price Not Bound to 4-Year Cycles
In-Between Bitcoin Halvings: Analyst Proves Bitcoin"s Price Not Bound to 4-Year Cycles Crypto traders and analysts have always looked to the halvings for some kind of clues in or
Tom Mitchelhill3 hours agoAlameda Research lost $190M to scams and ‘questionable’ blockchains: WhistleblowerFormer Alameda Research engineer Aditya Baradwaj says one trader lost more than $100 million after clicking
Microsoft Stock Blows Away Critics With Huge Buyback Plan
Quick, guess the world"s most valuable company? Apple, Facebook, Google? It"s none of those. Instead, Microsoft has claimed the title. The software giant is now worth $1.1 trillion, narrowly edging out Apple for the top
Maxim Magazine Launches Its NFT Marketplace Together With xSigma, a Subsidiary of Nasdaq: ZKIN
Maxim Magazine Launches Its NFT Marketplace Together With xSigma, a Subsidiary of Nasdaq: ZKIN sponsored xSigma,a blockchain R&D lab and subsidiary of ZK International (Nasdaq: ZKIN
Poly Network Says Stolen User Assets on ETH Have Been Returned, Except Frozen USDT
Poly Network Says Stolen User Assets on ETH Have Been Returned, Except Frozen USDT On Friday, a few days after the initial hack for $611 million, the Poly Networ
XRP Rich List: Top 20 Wallets Control Over 50% Of Supply, But Who’s Number 1?
Este artículo también está disponible en español. XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network, has seen its price grow massively in recent months,allowing it to
Shiba Inu’s Shibarium Sees Daily Transactions Surge To 4.68 Million, Will This Push SHIB’s Price Toward $0.00008?
Este artículo también está disponible en español. Shiba Inu’s ecosystem has been expanding rapidlyin the past year, thanks in part to Shibarium, its layer-2 platform. I
Turner Wright6 hours agoUK financial watchdog could give crypto firms until January 2024 for marketing complianceCompanies offering crypto services to U.K. residents have an Oct. 8 deadline to run “clear, fair and not
Jesse Coghlan5 hours agoIs 2023 the year genuine cross-chain interoperability takes off?Blockchains need to become interoperable in order for the industry to truly flourish and several innovations will accelerate the eco
Biggest Movers: SOL, NEAR Fall Over 10% During Tuesday’s Session
Biggest Movers: SOL, NEAR Fall Over 10% During Tuesday"s Session Crypto markets were down across the board on Tuesday, as bears re-entered the market, following strong gains on Mon
LBank Secures Virtual Asset Provider Registration to Operate in Italy
LBank Secures Virtual Asset Provider Registration to Operate in Italy press release PRESS RELEASE.Global crypto exchange LBank has registered as a Virtual Asset Provider with Italia
Helen Partz9 hours agoBinance limits withdrawals in Europe, cites payment processor issuesIn a since-deleted customer service message, Binance said that the failed withdrawals were caused by temporarily suspended euro tr