A wallet linked to the individual behind the WazirX hack, which netted over $235 million from the Indian cryptocurrency exchange, has recently moved $6.5 million in stolen Ethereum to Tornado Cash, coinciding with the exchange's advance withdrawal permissions for users.
According to a post on X by the blockchain security firm Cyvers on September 3, the hacker executed the transfer of 2,600 ETH—valued at $6.5 million based on current valuations—to Tornado Cash, likely as part of efforts to obscure the source of the misappropriated funds.
The wallet in question initially held approximately $6.7 million as of September 2 but has been drastically reduced to around $154,000 following 26 transactions, each comprising 100 ETH, to Tornado Cash within a single hour, as reflected by data from crypto tracking service DeBank.
This activity unfolded just as WazirX informed its users that they could withdraw up to 66% of their Indian rupee token holdings significantly earlier than anticipated, with an announcement made on September 3.
"From today onwards, all qualified users can withdraw up to the full 66% limit of their INR [Indian Rupee] balances," the exchange stated in the aforementioned X post.
Originally, WazirX had scheduled the withdrawal window to begin on September 9 but decided to expedite the process to give users quicker access to their assets.
Following the hacking incident on July 18 that resulted in a loss of $235 million, WazirX has been implementing a phased strategy to restore standard operations, which included reinitiating INR withdrawals that started on August 26.
On August 23, the exchange reported that 34% of rupee-based balances were "frozen" and unavailable for withdrawal due to ongoing investigations by various law enforcement entities.
WazirX also indicated there remain ongoing legal complications concerning cryptocurrency withdrawals. Moreover, WazirX is pursuing legal proceedings in Singapore, which has been chosen as the jurisdiction for its legal restructuring efforts.
