• The exploiter behind WazirX’s 1900 crore breach, has converted nearly $150 million of altcoins to Ether.
  • Experts believe this move has been made to avoid getting funds frozen or blacklisted.
  • Blockchain analytics for financial crime compliance firm, Elliptic, believes this hack was perpetrated by hackers affiliated with North Korea.

Indian crypto exchange, WazirX yesterday experienced a massive cyber attack. One of its multisig wallets suffered a breach and as a result, $234.9 million, which is over ₹1900 crore, of WazirX’s funds were stolen.

Now, in the latest intel, it has been determined that the WazirX exploiter has converted nearly $150 million of altcoins to Ether. Experts believe the exploiter has done so to avoid getting funds frozen or blacklisted. 

As per blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain, the hacker converted $90.2 million worth of Shiba Inu, $10.2 million in Polygon, and nearly $7.5 million in Pepe (PEPE) to Ether from July 18 to 19.

Furthermore, reports suggest that the hacker likely transferred the ERC-20 tokens to Ether as it is far more liquid and cannot be blacklisted. Also, ether is easier to launder through cryptocurrency exchanges and mixer protocols and its price is much more stable.

Now, in this whole WazirX hack saga, an interesting angle has emerged. Elliptic, a firm that is focused on blockchain analytics for financial crime compliance, has stated in its blog that as per on-chain analysis and other information, the hack was perpetrated by hackers affiliated with North Korea.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah