&w=3840&q=100)
CoinDCX offers up to 25% recovery bounty after $44.2 mn crypto theft
New Delhi
Cryptocurrency exchange platform CoinDCX has unveiled a recovery bounty initiative after a security breach that led to the theft of $44.2 million (around ₹378 crore) from its treasury. The platform will offer up to 25 per cent of recovered funds as a reward to those who assist in retrieving the stolen assets and identifying the culprits.
The CoinDCX Recovery Bounty Programme, announced on Monday, invites ethical hackers, white-hat researchers, and ecosystem partners to collaborate in the investigation. The company said the aim is not only to recover funds but also to 'rally the Web3 community in the fight against cybercrime'.
According to the statement, the potential bounty pool could amount to as much as $11 million, provided full recovery is achieved.
Internal account breach, not customer wallets
The breach, which was announced on Saturday (July 19), involved unauthorised access to one of CoinDCX's operational accounts used for liquidity provisioning on a partner exchange. Co-founder and CEO Sumit Gupta clarified that the compromised account was isolated and that customer funds were never at risk.
'The affected operational account is segregated from customer wallets. The entire loss will be absorbed by us using our treasury reserves,' said Gupta in a post on X.
Announcing the @CoinDCX Recovery Bounty Program: Up to 25% of any recovered funds will be awarded to individuals or teams who can help trace and retrieve the stolen crypto. Just to give more context: -> We want to be upfront. The exposure was from our own reserves, and we have… https://t.co/GHHlxf3PxB
— Sumit Gupta (CoinDCX) (@smtgpt) July 21, 2025
Co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal echoed the reassurance, saying, 'Our first and foremost objective throughout the day has been to secure assets. Coindcx Treasury will be bearing these losses.'
Funds routed via Solana and Ethereum
Preliminary investigations revealed that the stolen assets were moved through Solana-Ethereum bridges and later consolidated into 4,443 ETH (roughly $15.7 million) and 155,830 SOL (valued at $27.6 million). These funds are currently dormant, and CoinDCX is working with partners to freeze and recover them.
As part of its response, the firm is collaborating with global cybersecurity experts, CERT-In (India's Computer Emergency Response Team), and partner exchanges. A detailed forensic report will be made public upon completion of the investigation.
Following the attack, users reported issues accessing their portfolios, which CoinDCX attributed to server load caused by increased traffic. The firm has since scaled its server capacity, and access has been restored.
'We have significantly enhanced server capacity to serve users better,' Khandelwal said in a follow-up post.
Part of a larger pattern?
The CoinDCX incident follows a similar attack on WazirX, another Indian exchange, which suffered a $230–235 million breach in July 2024. In that case, WazirX proposed a socialised loss solution that returned only partial funds to users, drawing criticism from the crypto community.
Founded in 2018, CoinDCX claims to have over 16 million users and recorded $492 million in spot trading volume in May 2025, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading trades.
CoinDCX has said that the breach is a moment of reckoning, not retreat. 'Every security incident is a learning experience. We will come out stronger and work with the community to secure the industry,' said Gupta.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Stock to buy: Anand Rathi predicts Apollo Micro Systems' share price to rise 25% in 3 months. Here's why
Stock to buy: Indian brokerage firm Anand Rathi Investment Services disclosed its bullish stance on Apollo Micro Systems shares, predicting a 25% upside in the upcoming three-month period. In the stock report, Anand Rathi analysts highlighted that the shares of the Aerospace and Defence equipment maker had undergone a 'significant correction' after peaking near the ₹ 221 levels. They also stated that the stock is now moving 'within its Ichimoku cloud,' aligning with the previous breakout zone. 'The stock is moving within its Ichimoku cloud, aligning with the previous breakout zone, while the 100-day Exponential Moving Average (DEMA) also corresponds closely to this area. Fibonacci retracement levels between 38.2% and 50% further indicate potential support, suggesting a base formation near the 165-175 range,' said the analysts at Anand Rathi. On the technical front, the shares' Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering over the 40 support mark, which likely indicates a potential stabilisation. 'Additionally, the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) is around the crucial 40 support mark, signalling possible stabilisation,' they said. Apollo Micro Systems Ltd (APOLLO): Buy in the range of ₹ 165-175; Target Price at ₹ 210; Stop Loss at ₹ 150 (on a daily closing basis). 'Given this technical setup, investors might consider buying or accumulating shares within the 165-175 zone. The upside target is projected at 210, while a stop-loss below 150 on a daily closing basis is recommended to manage risk. This outlook highlights key support and resistance levels that traders should monitor closely before making investment decisions,' recommended Jigar Patel, Senior Manager of Equity Research at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers, in the stock report. Apollo Micro Systems shares closed 0.29% higher at ₹ 172.30 after Friday's stock market session, compared to ₹ 171.80 at the previous market close. The brokerage firm released its bullish stance on the company after market operating hours last week, on 25 July 2025. Shares of the Aerospace and Defence equipment maker have given stock market investors more than 1,280% returns on their investment in the last five years and over 39% gains in the last one-year period. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the stock has jumped 40.87% in 2025 but are currently trading 4.7% lower in the last five market sessions on the Indian stock market. According to data collected from the BSE website, Apollo Micro Systems shares hit their 52-week high at ₹ 221.40 on 24 June 2025, while the 52-week low was at ₹ 88.10 on 23 October 2024. The shares are currently trading under their year-high levels. The company's market capitalisation (M-Cap) stood at ₹ 5,280.82 crore as of the stock market close on Friday, 27 July 2025. Read all stories by Anubhav Mukherjee Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
No Entry For GM Crops, Says New Delhi; India-US Trade Talks Hit A Sacred Wall
New Delhi: Genetically modified (GM) crops will not be crossing India's borders anytime soon, no matter how urgently the United States knocks. As trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington enter a crucial phase, insiders say one red line is not up for discussion. 'There are things that are not about negotiation. Some things are a matter of principle,' said a senior official close to the development. That principle, sources say, is GM corn and soy. While American negotiators have made agricultural access a central demand, pressing India for a wider entry gate for U.S. farm goods, New Delhi is not blinking, especially on GM imports. Over the years, the issue has mutated from a mere trade disagreement into a symbolic fight over sovereignty, food safety and grassroots politics. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has repeatedly flagged India's restrictions on GM products, calling them 'non-tariff barriers'. But Indian authorities remain unmoved, largely because of the hardline stance taken by domestic groups closely aligned with the ruling establishment. Last month, the message from Sangh affiliates was if America insists on forcing GM crops into the Indian market, there may be no trade deal at all. Carried in Business Standard, that warning echoed the sentiments of influential groups such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which have long opposed agricultural concessions to Washington, particularly in sectors like dairy and GM crops. Their argument? Food security. The BKS has often warned that allowing U.S. crops into India, especially without clear labelling or transparency, could sabotage domestic farming ecosystems and compromise health safety standards. On the other hand, the SJM sees this as a direct attack on economic self-reliance. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. U.S. officials have privately hinted at the urgency of the moment, pointing to a deadline set by President Donald Trump, who is seeking a revival of his trade agenda. Trump has marked August 1 as a red-letter day. If no interim deal is inked by then, India could be hit with reciprocal tariffs, potentially as high as 26 percent. Indian trade negotiators are not indifferent to that pressure. But according to officials involved in the process, the sixth round of talks will only happen in the second half of August after Trump's deadline expires. Any hope for a short-term resolution seems, at best, unrealistic. As one official put it, 'We are not looking at compromise in areas that touch the lives of millions.' In other words, GM corn is off the table. And perhaps, so is the deal, at least for now.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Lenskart receives shareholder nod to raise ₹2,150 crore via IPO: Report
Lenskart IPO: Peyush Bansal-led Indian eyewear company Lenskart has received the approval of its shareholder to raise ₹ 2,150 crore through a fresh issue of shares, reported MoneyControl, citing people aware of the development. According to news report, the company filed its corporate action development with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' (MCA) Registrar of Companies (RoC), as per the data accessed by TheKredible. The proposal to raise money via an IPO was reportedly given the green light at the company's annual general meeting on 26 July 2025, said the report, adding, the eyewear company is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in the upcoming days. The overall IPO size is expected to be around $1 billion or ₹ 8,500 crore, which includes a secondary offer-for-sale (OFS) component by the existing investors, the report added. Earlier this month, Mint reported that the eyewear company's founder, Peyush Bansal, is looking to buy a 1.5-2% stake in the eyewear retailer worth about $150 million from existing investors ahead of its planned IPO. Peyush is buying small stakes from a bunch of investors. This is being negotiated at around $7-8 billion valuation. Existing investors like TR Capital, Chiratae, Softbank and Kedaara Capital are expected to sell their stake as part of the deal. Over the years, the company has raised $1.08 billion in funding across 19 rounds, including its latest Series I round for $18.2 million on 21 July 2023. It has received investments from various firms, including SoftBank Vision Fund, TPG, and Chiratae Ventures. Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Avendus Capital are the company-appointed book-runners for the IPO, which is soon expected to hit Dalal Street. The company was founded in 2010, and since then, it has emerged as one of the biggest players in the Indian eyewear industry. It has 2500 retail outlets across the nation and a presence globally, such as in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
