Latest news with #CoinDCX
India.com
13 hours ago
- Business
- India.com
Meet the owners of CoinDCX and WazirX, victims of India's biggest crypto theft after platforms hit by Rs 23610000000 cyber crime
Meet the owners of CoinDCX and WazirX, victims of India's biggest crypto theft after platforms hit by Rs 23610000000 cyber crime Recently, two of India's major cryptocurrency exchanges, CoinDCX and WazirX, have become victims of serious cyber attacks. CoinDCX suffered a loss of around Rs. 378 crore (about 44 million dollars) due to a breach in one of its internal accounts. This hacking incident took place on July 19. Last year, crypto exchange WazirX was also hit by a major cyber attack, just like the recent one at CoinDCX. In that incident, hackers stole user holdings worth about USD 230 million (around Rs. 1,983 crore). Over the last few years, India has seen multiple cyber fraud cases in the crypto sector, and now CoinDCX has also joined the list of affected companies. The total value of both attacks adds up to a shocking Rs. 2,361 crore. Let's take a quick look at the people behind these two popular crypto exchanges: WazirX, Founded by Nischal Shetty Nischal Shetty is the founder and CEO of WazirX, one of India's top cryptocurrency platforms. He is from Mumbai and studied computer science at Visvesvaraya Technological University and graduated in 2007. He started his career as a software developer. In 2010, he launched his first startup called Crowdfire, a social media management app that became quite popular. In 2018, Nischal started WazirX to help more people in India learn about and use cryptocurrency. The platform grew very fast and got over 1 crore (10 million) users. In 2019, it was bought by Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange. Later, in 2022, Nischal started a new project called Shardeum. It's a blockchain platform that is built to work for a large number of users. Its goal is to make blockchain technology easier to use and more helpful for everyone. As per a recent Business Today report, Nischal Shetty and WazirX co-founder Siddharth Menon have moved to Dubai, but WazirX still has offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Who owns CoinDCX? While WazirX has been in the spotlight, CoinDCX, another major Indian crypto exchange, also made headlines after the recent cyber attack. CoinDCX was founded in 2018 by Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal. Sumit Gupta, an IIT Bombay graduate, is the current CEO of the company. At just 19 years old, he started his first business and also worked at a multinational company in Tokyo.
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
ITR 2025: These are the 5 key streams of income liable to tax
If you are a taxpayer and are contemplating filing your income tax return (ITR) for FY2024-25, then it is vital to note that your tax return includes any or all of the five sources of income. Broadly, these five income streams include salary, rental income from property, gains on the sale of assets such as gold, securities and property, profit from a business enterprise, and all other sources such as interest on fixed deposit. Notably, a taxpayer may earn income from one or more of these sources. For instance, someone with a salary and rental income may also have a small business from which they earn a profit. Or someone who runs a business may be drawing a salary from their business unit. Likewise, someone with a business, rental income as well as interest income may also have earned some capital gain by selling a property or gold. 'Although it is not a common occurrence, there could be some cases where a taxpayer has income under all five heads. In that case, one will have to use ITR-3 or ITR-4 based on the finer details of the case,' says CA Pratibha Goyal, a Delhi-based chartered accountant and partner, PD Gupta & Company. Here, we give a lowdown on these five streams of income: I. Salary: This category includes basic salary, allowances, perquisites, and bonuses, among others. Typically, taxpayers who only have a salary as their income can file their income tax return with ITR-1. II. Income from house property: Includes rental income from owned property. Those who have income from house property can use ITR-1 to file their income tax return. III. Capital gains: Capital gains could be short term or long term and could accrue on the sale of shares, mutual funds and real estate. Taxpayers whose capital gains are less than ₹ 1.25 lakh can use ITR-1 for filing their tax return and if it is higher, one can use ITR-2 for filing their return. IV. Business or profession: This includes self-employment, freelancing and business income. It applies to entrepreneurs, freelancers and small agency owners. Those earning under a business or profession need to file their tax return under ITR-4 or ITR-5 or ITR-6 based on the category of business income. Source: PIB V. Other sources: This category includes interest income, dividends from shares, lottery winnings, and gifts. For instance, if you happen to win a bounty from CoinDCX or a TV show such as Big Boss, the earnings will fall under other sources. Visit here for all personal finance updates
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
CoinDCX lost $44 million but no users affected, now how did that happen?
It'd been a while since India's crypto sector grabbed any headlines (negative) and attracted unwanted attention. With Bitcoin recently hitting an all-time high of around $118,000 per Bitcoin, it seemed that everything in crypto was going good. But then, catastrophe 21 July, India's crypto sector was jolted when CoinDCX, one of the country's major cryptocurrency exchanges, confirmed a security breach that led to a staggering $44 million loss. Convert that, and that's more than Rs 380 crores stolen. However, what stood out in the official communication was this: no user accounts were affected. So what exactly was hacked?advertisementDon't crypto exchanges use blockchain for transactions? Isn't blockchain supposed to be unhackable? And how did such a massive attack go unnoticed until after the funds were drained?Let's try to break it all down in this hack: What happened? On July 19, CoinDCX suffered a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of approximately $44.2 million worth of crypto assets, including over 155,000 SOL (Solana) and 4,400 ETH (Ethereum). The news of the breach came to light after several on-chain analysis firms like Cyvers flagged suspicious activity involving CoinDCX's reported, the stolen funds were not from customer wallets, but from an internal operational wallet used by the exchange for providing liquidity—basically, helping facilitate smooth transactions across crypto pairs. You see, like banks, even crypto exchanges need to keep some cash on the exchange to facilitate customer transitions smoothly. The hack happened when funds were quickly moved across blockchain networks and laundered using tools like Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer often used to obscure the origin of stolen user accounts compromised?The report also stated that no customer accounts were affected by the hack. CoinDCX confirmed that: All customer funds remain safe and untouched. The affected wallet was strictly for internal operations, not user holdings. The company has covered the entire loss using its corporate treasury. CoinDCX is offering an $11 million bounty to any white-hat hacker who helps retrieve the funds. As most customer funds are stored on cold wallets, which aren't connected to the server, this clean separation prevented a much larger crisis. CoinDCX also immediately strengthened its backend infrastructure and began working with cybersecurity firms for forensic what was actually hacked?Let's be clear about one thing–the blockchain wasn't hacked. Instead, backend systems that connect CoinDCX's platform to the blockchain were compromised. Think of it like this: the vault (blockchain) is secure, but the lock on the door leading to the vault room (the exchange's software) was left open or broken. While it's not confirmed how exactly the hack happened, there are a few possibilities we can likely vulnerabilities exploited:Leaked or misconfigured API keys that allowed unauthorised access to hot access controls, meaning internal systems had excessive weaknesses where malicious actors gained backend to blockchain security firm Cyvers, the attack was 'swift and sophisticated', and bears hallmarks of previous hacks attributed to Lazarus Group, a North Korea-linked hacker collective. On the hack, CoinDCX also issued a press note stating that the incident involved only one internal operational account used for liquidity provisioning on a partner a blockchain be hacked?This is where confusion arises for most people. While blockchain technology itself is designed to be highly secure and resistant to tampering, the platforms built on top of it (like exchanges and bridges) can and have been are mostly in the form of decentralised finance applications and smart contracts, which are built on the blockchain. These are tools which help move crypto from one blockchain to another. Without these, moving crypto is impossible. Here's a simple breakdown: What else can be hacked?Beyond exchanges, several key components in the crypto ecosystem are vulnerable:advertisementSmart contracts: If not properly audited, logic flaws or unchecked inputs can be wallets: Users store crypto in these. These are constantly online, making them easy targets for malware, phishing, or exposed private wallet services: Can be compromised via backend breaches or insider nodes: Rarely hacked, but vulnerable if poorly configured or running outdated protocols: Extremely difficult to hack due to decentralisation and consensus mechanisms. One would need to gain control of millions of computers to bridges: One of the most vulnerable and highly targeted for their complexity and poor audits; attackers exploit bugs to drain hacked in the pastCoinDCX isn't the only exchange which has been hacked, and it's not even the largest hack till now. Here's a list of major hacks in the past. Major past crypto exchange hacks:WazirX (2024): Reportedly lost $230+ million when a third-party wallet (Liminal) was Gox (2014): Lost 850,000 BTC, worth billions today, due to internal mismanagement and a long-running security (2022): Technically a misappropriation rather than a hack, but over $400 million was stolen during its in 2025 alone, North Korea-linked hackers are estimated to have stolen over $1.6 billion in crypto via various do Indian exchanges secure user funds?Despite the risks, reputable Indian exchanges like CoinDCX and CoinSwitch follow multiple layers of measures in place:advertisementCold wallets: Most user funds are stored offline, away from the internet. These cannot be hacked until the hacker has passwords to these access: No single person can move funds unilaterally. You need signatures of multiple people to access user monitoring: Automated systems detect unusual transactions and flag them. Third-party audits: Regular checks on reserves and compliance: All crypto exchanges registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) must report incidents with these safeguards, the fact that these exchanges are run and maintained by humans makes them the weakest link. Despite strict firewalls, things like misconfigured systems to social engineering tactics make these exchanges vulnerable to this still mattersThe CoinDCX hack brings up a critical question: Who is watching over crypto in India? Unlike traditional banks, crypto exchanges in India operate in a regulatory grey area. There's no insurance if an exchange loses money. Even if your funds are safe today, there's no formal government body to protect you in the event of a total since the government hasn't officially recognised crypto as a legal financial instrument, these platforms must self-regulate and absorb any damages, as CoinDCX has done in this case. Despite this ambiguity, Indians continue to put more money in crypto, considering the success and a handful of people have been able to derive from early is secure, but systems can failThe breach at CoinDCX didn't break the blockchain, nor did it rob everyday investors. However, it did expose the vulnerabilities that exist between the user and the chain–the infrastructure, the access systems, and the operational the objective of this article isn't about crypto being unsafe, it's a reminder that even the strongest technology is only as safe as the people and platforms managing India's crypto industry matures, the need for stronger regulation, better audits, and consumer protection mechanisms has never been more urgent. Not to mention that crypto exchanges in India need to have systems in place which can predict and prevent hacks like these in order to keep the ecosystem safe.- Ends
International Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- International Business Times
CoinDCX Suffers $44 Million Internal Breach, Offers $11 Million Bounty in Major Crypto Security Incident
In one of the most serious cryptocurrency security incidents to date, CoinDCX has disclosed a $44 million breach involving its internal operational accounts. The crypto exchange confirmed that the loss stemmed from internal systems and did not affect user wallets or customer funds. X Sumit Gupta, CEO of CoinDCX, addressed the incident publicly, assuring users that the company had absorbed the financial hit entirely from its treasury. "No user funds were compromised. We absorbed the loss through our own treasury," he said in a statement. Details about the nature of the breach remain unclear, with the company withholding specifics about the compromised systems or whether any external attackers were identified. In response to the attack, CoinDCX has announced a recovery bounty of up to $11 million aimed at attracting white-hat hackers and blockchain investigators who can help track the stolen funds and identify those responsible. This marks the second-largest publicly known breach of a crypto exchange in India, trailing only WazirX's 2022 hack that involved losses estimated at $230 million. Industry analysts suggest the CoinDCX case highlights growing concerns over internal security lapses at crypto platforms, particularly in treasury management. Experts emphasize that internal breaches often involve compromised credentials or insufficient access controls—issues not necessarily tied to regulatory failings but rather operational weaknesses. The incident has renewed focus on the need for Indian crypto platforms to adopt real-time audits, multi-signature wallets, and tighter access protocols. Although CoinDCX has not yet confirmed the involvement of blockchain forensics firms or law enforcement, the bounty move signals an attempt to crowdsource recovery efforts. Given that no customer assets were affected, the breach is unlikely to prompt direct regulatory consequences but may accelerate calls for standardized operational security frameworks. India's crypto sector continues to operate in a grey regulatory zone, subject to tax laws but without unified cybersecurity standards. With adoption on the rise, incidents like this could push industry bodies and exchanges to double down on backend controls and investor assurance.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Altseason in 2025: Meaning, trends, key altcoins to keep an eye on
The cryptocurrency market is showing strong signs of entering Altseason, a period when alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, begin to outperform Bitcoin in both price performance and trading activity. This shift is catching the attention of traders and investors, many of whom are now rotating capital into altcoins in anticipation of broader market gains. So why is this happening now? One of the key signals is the drop in Bitcoin dominance, which measures Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation. This metric has recently fallen below 60 per cent, indicating that more money is flowing into altcoins relative to Bitcoin. Meanwhile, several altcoins are already gaining momentum. Solana is holding firmly above the $200 mark, reaching its highest level in five months. At the same time, Ethereum is seeing a surge in derivatives activity, with futures open interest rising from $18 billion to $28 billion in just one week. These developments, analysts said, have pushed the Altcoin Season Index above 50 for the first time since December of last year. An index reading above 50 suggests that altcoins are beginning to outpace Bitcoin. This shift in market dynamics, Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex, said, suggests that the crypto markets may be entering a promising Altseason soon. But what exactly is 'Altseason,' and what should investors expect from it? What are Altcoins? Altcoins, which is a shorter form of 'alternative coins', refer to all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, including a wide range of digital assets with different functions and technologies. Some of the popular altcoins include Ethereum, Solana, Ripple (XRP), and Cardano. Altcoins are often used in blockchain applications, ecosystems, and platforms. What is Altseason? Altcoin Season (Altseason) is a period in the crypto market when altcoins (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin) outperform Bitcoin in terms of price growth and returns. Altseason, analysts suggest, typically follows a pattern in the crypto market's 4-year cycle — starting with Bitcoin, then large-cap tokens like ETH and Solana, and finally spreading to smaller altcoins. It is usually marked by high trading volumes, increased interest in new blockchain projects, and rising social media buzz. Altseason, analysts said, often reflects broader market optimism. However, it can also be highly volatile and short-lived. What do analysts expect from the Altseason? As retail participation grows, Patel expects fresh capital to flow into altcoins, especially those with strong real-world utility and active communities. Currently, the 'Altcoin Index,' which tracks the performance of the top 100 altcoins, is at 50. "This indicates that there is still room for further growth. That said, investors should always do their own research and approach the market with a long-term mindset to truly benefit from the upcoming cycle," said Patel. Paras Malhotra, SVP - trade, custody, and business operations at CoinDCX, on the other hand, expects sectors with strong narratives like AI, DeFi, or Layer-2 projects to attract massive gains, given that many altcoins are reporting a strong breakout above pivotal resistance. "One can also expect an increase in on-chain activity, such as wallet growth and token transfers, along with a surge in trading volume and sentiment across mid and low-cap projects," said Malhotra. Top altcoins to watch Investors, analysts suggest, should focus on altcoins with a strong track record and real use cases, like Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and a few others. Notably, Ethereum's futures open interest jumped from $18 billion to $28 billion in just one week, showing rising investor confidence. Meanwhile, Solana also saw a 9 per cent increase in daily active addresses in just one day, highlighting growing user activity. "Keeping an eye on such on-chain data can help investors spot strong projects," said Patel. Malhotra also expects that altcoins with strong fundamentals will gain significant traction during the upcoming Altseason, with projects like Solana, Avalanche, and Hype being the main focus. "Besides Layer-1, DeFi, AI, and gaming tokens could also see a good spike."
