WazirX Hacker Converts $149M in SHIB, MATIC, and Other Altcoins to Ether
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The WazirX hacker behind the $235 million exploit moved nearly $150 million worth of altcoins to Ether. Blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain reported that the hacker converted $90.2 million of Shiba Inu (SHIB), and $7.5 million in Pepe (PEPE), $10.2 million in Polygon (MATIC) to Ether (ETH) between July 18 and 19.
These transfers increased the total amount of stolen funds in Ether to $201 million, up from $52 million initially.
Hacker Converts Tokens to Ether to Avoid Blacklisting
According to Spot On Chain, the hacker likely moved ERC-20 tokens to Ether because it is more liquid and cannot be blacklisted.
“Some ERC-20 tokens have a contract function to blacklist addresses, while the ETH native token does not,”
the firm explained.
Swapping to Ether quickly helps secure the funds before authorities or token issuers can take preventative measures. Additionally, blockchain security firm PeckShield noted that Ether is easier to launder through cryptocurrency exchanges and mixer protocols, and its price is more stable.
SHIB Drops 7% After WazirX Hack, Hacker Holds $12M in Altcoins
The hack triggered a selloff in SHIB, which fell nearly 7% since the incident. In contrast, Ether’s price only dropped by 0.1%. The Wazirx hacker still holds around $12 million worth of Chromia (CHR), Celer Network (CELR), Frontier (FRONT), and Ooki (OOKI) tokens, according to Spot On Chain’s X post.
WazirX Battles to Recover $230M After Cyber Attack
The Indian-based cryptocurrency exchange halted withdrawals on July 18 following the breach, which wiped out nearly half of its reserves. According to WazirX’s June proof-of-reserves statement, the exchange is working to recover the stolen funds.
“This is a force majeure event beyond our control, but we are leaving no stone unturned to locate and recover the funds,”
WazirX posted on X. The exchange has already blocked a few deposits and reached out to concerned wallets for recovery.
Notably, blockchain forensics firm Elliptic told that specific patterns and techniques used in the WazirX hack suggest North Korean hackers might be behind the $235 million hack. Moreover, the investigation continues as WazirX collaborates with authorities and security firms to trace and recover the stolen assets.
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