WazirX Launches $23M Bounty to Recover Stolen Crypto After Major Hack

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Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX initiates a $23 million bounty program to recover assets stolen in a recent cyberattack on its multisig wallet, emphasizing community involvement in tracking, freezing, and ethically recovering the funds.

WazirX, a leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a $23 million bounty program to recover over $230 million in assets stolen during a recent cyberattack on one of its multisig wallets. The exchange made this announcement on Sunday, emphasizing the critical role of community involvement in the recovery process.

Based on @zachxbt‘s feedback, we have increased the White Hat Recovery reward to 10%, i.e., up to $23 Million.

We invite white hat hackers, blockchain forensics experts, and cybersecurity professionals from around the world to join this critical mission and protect the integrity… https://t.co/WasoyJT5UX

— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) July 21, 2024

>> Read More: WazirX Crypto Exchange Hit by $235M Hack: Funds Moved to New Address

Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX, took to social media platform X to reveal the initiative: “We’ve launched a bounty program today to help track, freeze, and recover the stolen assets. We will need your help in spreading it across internationally.” Initially set at $11.5 million, the bounty was later doubled to $23 million.

The bounty program comprises two main components. The “Track & Freeze” bounty offers rewards up to $10,000 in USDT for actionable intelligence leading to the freezing of stolen funds. The “White Hat Recovery” bounty promises ethical hackers a 5% incentive of the recovered amount.

WazirX stated that the program would run for three months from the announcement date, with the possibility of extension or reduction based on requirements and results.

Shetty clarified that the hack was not due to a phishing attack. He explained that the breach involved three signatures from WazirX, each using different hardware wallets from different locations, with Liminal, their custody provider, as the fourth signer. Shetty expressed certainty that the hardware keys of WazirX’s wallets were not compromised, emphasizing the complexity of the attack.

Liminal, however, maintains that its platform was not breached, asserting that their forensic analysis indicates the malicious transactions originated from WazirX’s “compromised machines.”

WazirX has filed a police complaint and is pursuing further legal action. The exchange has also reported the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and has contacted over 500 exchanges to block the identified addresses.