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Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX hack sends SHIB and WRX tumbling as Bitcoin and Tether trade at steep discounts
Stolen cryptocurrencies in a malicious attack on Indian exchange WazirX on Thursday morning, as well as the platform’s native token, are suffering significant losses in their market values after the hack drained around 50% of the exchange’s reserves.
The exchange has temporarily paused withdrawals.
WazirX’s WRX token is trading 15% lower at just over 14 cents, according to data from Coingecko. The rupee-denominated price has fallen more than 25% since the exchange confirmed the hack that saw the attacker walk away with $230 million in customer funds, including $100 million worth of shiba inu. (SHIB). The attacker also drained $52 million worth of ether (ETH)US$11 million in MATIC and US$6 million in PEPE.
SHIB has since lost more than 6% in market value in US dollars, while trading 16% lower in rupees, amid reports that the hacker is liquidating the coins. Blockchain data suggests the attacker is dumping SHIB, putting downward pressure on its market value.
Other tokens remained relatively stable in dollar terms while they suffered significant losses in the exchange’s INR pairs.
Notably, the bitcoin-rupee (BTC/INR) pair fell 11% to 5.1 million rupees ($60,945), trading at a massive discount to prices on rival exchange CoinDCX, where the cryptocurrency changed hands at 5.7 million rupees. The global average dollar-denominated price of BTC traded 1% higher on the day at $61,800. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is trading at around $64,900, according to data from CoinDesk Indices.
Meanwhile, the USDT-INR (USDT) pair on WazirX has fallen by 8%.
The discounts on BTC, USDT, and other cryptocurrencies on WazirX likely reflect panic selling by investors and the rush for fiat currency/cash following the hack.