WazirX announces $23M bounty to recover $234M in stolen crypto assets

Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has offered a bounty of up to $23 million to recover $234 million worth of digital assets stolen during a cyberattack on July 18. 

The initiative invites white hat hackers, blockchain forensics experts, and cybersecurity professionals globally to assist in the recovery efforts.

"We've launched a bounty programme today to help track, freeze and recover the stolen assets. We will need your help in spreading it across internationally so that all the white hat hackers of the world unite and help us recover these stolen assets," said Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX.

"The world has more good people than bad and I genuinely believe that if the entire global community comes together, we can find the perpetrators and recover the stolen funds," he further added.

The bounty programme will run for three months, with the possibility of extension or reduction based on need and results. It offers rewards amounting to 10% of the recovered sum, potentially totalling up to $23 million.

The Mumbai-based exchange is offering two bounties: the 'Track & Freeze Bounty' provides up to $10,000 USDT for actionable intelligence that leads to freezing stolen funds, with required collaboration with WazirX if participants cannot do it themselves.

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The 'White Hat Recovery Bounty' offers 10% of the recovered amount to facilitate the return of funds to a specified ERC20 wallet address, potentially up to $23 million.

The attack led to the theft of assets from WazirX's multisig Ethereum wallet, severely affecting the platform's collateralisation. As a result, WazirX has temporarily suspended trading, deposits, and withdrawals while carrying out a forensic investigation and security audit.

WazirX is an India-based crypto exchange platform that allows users to buy, sell, and trade various crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and more.