logo
CoinDCX offers up to 25% recovery bounty after $44.2 mn crypto theft

CoinDCX offers up to 25% recovery bounty after $44.2 mn crypto theft

CoinDCX offers up to 25% bounty after $44.2 mn theft. Firm seeks white-hat help in crypto recovery, amid rising cyberattacks on Indian exchanges
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.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Indian-origin pilot arrested in US on charges of sex crimes against child
Indian-origin pilot arrested in US on charges of sex crimes against child

Economic Times

time6 minutes ago

  • Economic Times

Indian-origin pilot arrested in US on charges of sex crimes against child

An Indian-origin pilot was arrested on charges of sex crimes against a child, shortly after his flight landed at San Francisco International Airport, US authorities said. Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, a Delta airline pilot, was arrested on the evening of July 26, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division said in a statement on Monday. At about 9:35 PM on Saturday, authorities, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the plane to arrest him, it County Office said it had been investigating since April 2025 after receiving a report of sex crimes against a child, and an arrest warrant was later secured for Bhagwagar. Bhagwagar, of Florida, was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail, the statement said. A report in said that passengers reported seeing multiple federal agents push into the cockpit Saturday and arrest Bhagwagar shortly after the plane landed in San quoted a statement by Delta to say that the pilot has been suspended from the airline pending the investigation."Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will fully cooperate with law enforcement," the Delta spokesperson said, according to the report. "We are appalled by reports of the charges related to the arrest and the individual in question has been suspended pending an investigation." The KTVU report said that a female has alleged that while Bhagwagar was dating her mother, he "sexually abused her from the ages of six until eleven years old." The girl alleges her mother knew about the abuse because she was present for some of the sexual acts.

Chinese Siblings Fighting For Father's Rs 3.6 Crore Property Discover Both Are Adopted
Chinese Siblings Fighting For Father's Rs 3.6 Crore Property Discover Both Are Adopted

NDTV

time6 minutes ago

  • NDTV

Chinese Siblings Fighting For Father's Rs 3.6 Crore Property Discover Both Are Adopted

In a bizarre case straight out of an Indian soap opera, two siblings in China's Tianjin city who had been fighting over a Rs 3.6 crore (three million yuan) inheritance left by their dead father, have now discovered that neither of them was the biological child. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Sun, the family head, died in March 2025. Before his death, he transferred ownership of the Rs 3.6 crore property solely to his son. Mr Sun also instructed his son to provide "reasonable compensation" to his daughter, who was adopted by him and his wife in 1966. "Our daughter is adopted, but we have always treated her as our own. In our later years, it was our son who took care of us. We gave the house to him, and he intends to compensate his sister. We hope you two can get along like true siblings," the statement read. The adopted daughter protested against the decision, arguing that the property transfer contract bore only the father's signature, implying that her mother's share should still be included in the estate. "Since the contract was signed only by him, my mother's share should be treated as part of the inheritance. This house was given to me by my parents, no one is taking it from me," she said. The dispute then turned into a legal battle at the Nankai District People's Court in Tianjin. In the court, the sister presented new evidence claiming that her brother's household registration documents were marked "adopted", proving he was not a biological child. The settlement Soon after the revelation, the brother broke down in the court but insisted that his sister had not been in the family picture since the 1990s. As per him, a property dispute decades ago led to his sister severing ties with the family, leaving him to take care of their parents until their deaths. The judge overseeing the case noted that the property was legally transferred and notarised in 2007, meaning it was no longer part of the inheritance estate. After some back and forth between the siblings, a settlement was reached. The property would stay with the brother, who would have to pay his sister Rs 66 lakh (550,000 yuan) in compensation. Social media users reacting to the verdict said that both kids were adopted, but the boy was kept in the dark about it while the daughter knew, which may have led to the rift.

Women In Delhi Can Now Work Night Shifts In Shops, Commercial Establishments
Women In Delhi Can Now Work Night Shifts In Shops, Commercial Establishments

NDTV

time6 minutes ago

  • NDTV

Women In Delhi Can Now Work Night Shifts In Shops, Commercial Establishments

New Delhi: Women in Delhi can now legally work night shifts in shops and commercial establishments, with the government easing long-standing restrictions under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the decision on Tuesday, saying that the policy will boost women workforce participation and expand the city's potential as a 24x7 economy. The government plans to amend Sections 14, 15, and 16 of the 1954 Act, which currently prohibit women from working night hours, defined as between 9 pm and 7 am in summer and 8 pm to 8 am in winter. Once the change is in effect, these restrictions will no longer apply, allowing businesses to employ women in round-the-clock operations, provided they follow strict safety and workplace requirements. "This is a step toward increasing women's participation in the workforce while ensuring their safety and dignity at the workplace," Chief Minister Gupta said. "We are not just changing a rule, we're also creating a framework where women feel secure and supported during night hours," she added. Safety Protocols Mandatory The new policy comes with non-negotiable conditions for employers. Written consent from women employees will be required before assigning night shifts. The establishments must provide secure transportation for night duty, round-the-clock CCTV coverage, an adequate number of female security personnel, and an Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act, restrooms, lockers, and break rooms and wages must be paid via bank or ECS, and all legal benefits like ESI, Provident Fund, bonuses, weekly offs, and overtime pay will be mandatory. Policy Awaiting Lt Governor's Approval The proposal will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for final approval. Similar policies are already in place in states like Haryana, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Delhi's move follows months of internal discussions and demands from industry bodies looking to expand night-time operations. "This will help establish Delhi as a 24x7 business hub and also contribute to improving the capital's Ease of Doing Business rankings," the Chief Minister said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store