- WazirX was hacked in July, losing over $100 million in SHIB and $52 million in ETH.
- Over $11 million in stolen ether moved to Tornado Cash to obscure the trail.
- WazirX filed for restructuring after the breach affected over 45% of its reserves.
The North Korean group responsible for the July 2024 WazirX crypto exchange hack has moved over $11 million in stolen ether (ETH) to the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash.
This movement is part of a larger effort by the hackers to obscure the digital trail, making it difficult for investigators to track the stolen funds.
WazirX Hacker Moves $11M Stolen ETH to Tornado Cash Amid Ongoing Fallout
The breach on WazirX resulted in the loss of more than $100 million in SHIB and $52 million in ETH, causing a significant hit to the exchange’s reserves. The stolen assets represented over 45% of WazirX’s reported reserves, prompting the exchange to file for restructuring to manage the fallout. Despite efforts to trace the funds, the hackers’ use of Tornado Cash has made recovery challenging.
The hack on WazirX, which saw over $100 million in shiba inu (SHIB) and $52 million in ETH stolen, has dealt a severe blow to the exchange. The funds stolen in the attack accounted for more than 45% of the exchange’s reported reserves in June 2024. As a result, WazirX has initiated restructuring processes to address the financial damage caused by the breach.
The movement of stolen funds to Tornado Cash is the latest in a series of transfers by the hacker. Wallet data tracked by Arkham revealed that over 5,000 ETH was moved to a new address, with subsequent transfers totaling $1.2 million in tokens being sent to Tornado Cash. This comes after a $4 million transfer made the previous week, indicating a continued effort to launder the stolen assets.
WazirX continues to grapple with the repercussions of the breach, and efforts to recover the stolen funds remain ongoing. The use of Tornado Cash by the hackers has made the process particularly challenging, as the service effectively erases the transaction trail, complicating the task of tracing the stolen assets back to the perpetrators.
The WazirX hack has underscored the vulnerability of crypto exchanges and the ongoing challenges of tracking stolen assets in a decentralized system. As crypto criminals increasingly turn to services like Tornado Cash, the industry must continue to evolve its security and investigative measures to combat these sophisticated attacks.
“Tornado Cash allows crypto users to exchange tokens while masking wallet addresses on various blockchains.”
