CoinDCX cyberattack: here’s what we know about the $44 million crypto hack so far

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX was hit by a cyberattack early Saturday, resulting in a loss of $44 million. Cofounders Neeraj Khandelwal and Sumit Gupta confirmed the breach in separate posts, assuring that customer assets remain safe. The loss will be covered by the company’s treasury.

The incident adds to a growing list of major crypto hacks over the last year.

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, cyberattacks on crypto platforms have already led to $2.2 billion in losses in 2024 alone, marking the fourth consecutive year where the number has crossed the $1 billion mark.

When CoinDCX’s founders announced the breach on Saturday, they said that the company’s Web3 trading had halted. However, Indian rupee withdrawals on the platform continued to be operational.

Early on Sunday, Gupta put out another X post saying all of CoinDCX’s functionalities were operational. “A gentle reminder: Don’t panic sell your assets. It often leads to poor prices and unnecessary losses,” he wrote.

CoinDCX joins a roster of high-profile breaches across the industry.

• In February, Bybit lost nearly $1.5 billion after a hacker gained access to one of its offline Ethereum wallets. Analysts linked the breach to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
• In May, Coinbase forecast a potential impact of up to $400 million from a breach involving internal data and contractor collusion. The company refused to pay a $20 million ransom.

WazirX breach

Indian exchange WazirX reported a $230 million theft last year, which it traced back to a vulnerability in a third-party transaction interface. This was the biggest crypto breach for an Indian firm. The stolen funds have since been laundered using TornadoCash, a decentralised crypto mixer.

WazirX’s preliminary probe revealed the cyberattack was caused by a mismatch between data shown on Liminal’s interface and the actual transaction details. The company suspects the attacker replaced the transaction payload, gaining unauthorised control of the wallet.

The Liminal interface is the user-facing dashboard through which clients like WazirX manage crypto transactions, wallets, and security settings.

ET had spoken to about a dozen people who had invested between Rs 30,000 and Rs 1.5 crore on the platform, in December last year. Many recounted tales of financial distress — individuals driven into debt, some having to flee their villages and others grappling with suicidal thoughts.