• WazirX has suffered a massive security breach, with hackers stealing cryptocurrency from the platform.
• Over $230 million in cryptos was stolen from the company’s wallets.
• The company has suspended withdrawals in rupees and cryptos.

WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Thursday reported a massive security breach on its platform, which has resulted in the theft of over $230 million in cryptocurrency.

WazirX took to social media platform X to confirm the security breach and informed users that customer withdrawals from the exchange have been temporarily paused.

“A cyber-attack occurred in one of our multisig wallets involving a loss of funds exceeding $230 million. Despite us taking all necessary steps to protect the customer assets, the cyber attackers appear to have possibly breached such security features, and the theft occurred,” WazirX said in a post on X.

The breach reportedly occurred in one of the exchange’s multisig wallets, which require multiple private keys to unlock and withdraw funds.

The incident was linked to a discrepancy between the data displayed on Liminal’s digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure and the actual contents of the transaction. Liminal has been providing services to WazirX since February 2023.

WazirX has suspended all withdrawals, in both rupees and crypto on its platform.

“To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’ll keep you posted with further updates,” the company added.

“We have identified 2 more exploited smart contracts. Our team is still investigating the incident. For the time being we have opened up a secluded website to revoke all approvals. Your funds are at risk until you revoke,” WazirX added.

This security breach comes at a challenging time for WazirX, as the exchange has seen its trading volume plummet by 90% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The decline can be attributed to the Indian government’s introduction of a 30% tax on virtual currencies and a 1% deduction for every crypto transaction in 2022.

Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating several cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) related to cryptocurrencies.

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Leading media outlet Bloomberg infuriates XRP community members with its description of the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency. 

In a recent article titled “Settlement Speculation Pushes XRP to Forefront of Crypto Rally,” Bloomberg characterized XRP as a “little-known cryptocurrency.” 

According to Bloomberg, speculations about a potential settlement in the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple have put the XRP at the forefront of the crypto rally, with an astronomical price surge of 40% recorded over the past week. 

Notably, Bloomberg Crypto, the media outlet’s crypto arm, shared a link to the article on X. 

XRP Community Members React 

Despite Bloomberg highlighting XRP’s massive growth over the past week, its description of the asset as a “little-known” cryptocurrency irked community members. 

The development triggered reactions among prominent XRP enthusiasts, including crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong (a.k.a. BitBoy). 

$XRP “a little-known cryptocurrency” https://t.co/ZPuBlKHTJj

— BitBoy (@BenArmstrongsX) July 17, 2024

Popular media personality Zach Rector characterized the description as a joke, adding that he would address it in a video later today. 

What a joke! “Little-known cryptocurrency.”
New #XRP video addressing this dropping at 7 PM EST https://t.co/D0w1QR5HRB

— Zach Rector (@ZachRector7) July 17, 2024

A Move to Attract Engagement 

Furthermore, most XRP enthusiasts suggested that Bloomberg intentionally used the description to stir engagement from its community members. 

Hey everyone, don’t be fooled. Bloomberg knew they would get more attention from everyone by adding “little-known” in the tweet. Smart!

— Bull Diep (@DiepSanh) July 17, 2024

It bears mentioning that the Bloomberg tweet has received enormous engagement since it was posted yesterday at 17:44 PM (UTC). So far, it has attracted over 91,000 views, 382 likes, and 167 retweets. This is currently one of Bloomberg Crypto’s best-performing tweets in recent times. 

XRP Popularity Surges 

It is unclear whether Bloomberg intentionally used the description to fuel engagement. However, XRP has gained massive popularity in the crypto and traditional finance sectors. Crypto investors are usually focused on XRP due to its ranking among the top 10 crypto assets by market capitalization.  

Additionally, XRP has attracted investors’ attention based on its involvement in the ongoing legal dispute between the SEC and Ripple. Interestingly, several crypto entities, including Binance and Coinbase, leveraged the Ripple decision, which declared XRP a non-security, to bolster their arguments against the SEC. 

On the other hand, XRP is also making waves in the traditional finance industry. Several financial institutions, including Tranglo and Japan banks, have utilized XRP for cross-border settlements via Ripple’s payments solution, ODL (now Ripple Payments). 

At press time, XRP is up 32.65% over the past 7 days to 59 cents. It is currently ranked as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $33 billion.