Based on blockchain technology cryptocurrency was designed to be immutable, safest possible to face the invasive onslaught of cybercrimes. As the cryptocurrencies started gaining currency, for a variety of financial reasons crypto exchanges came into being. Given the breaches in the recent, crypto exchanges don’t create any confidence for safety. The recent hack at CoinDCX, where nearly $44 million was stolen from an internal operational wallet, marks yet another episode in a year already defined by record-breaking cryptocurrency breaches.
This attack comes close on the heels of quite a few high profile incidents of similar nature. The breaches include $1.15 billion ByBit exploit, the largest on record and $90 million Nobitex breach, propelling global crypto thefts in 2025 go past $2.17 billion in mid-year and are already eclipsing 2024’s total losses. The current case of CoinDCX is being investigated by Bengaluru Police, where hackers allegedly siphoned off nearly $44 million. It was on 19th July 2025 when Coin DCX detected suspicious activity.
The FIR states that hackers first carried out a small test transfer of just 1 USDT at 2.37 am and hours later, they made a massive transaction worth $44 million. The case was filed by Hardeep Singh, VP incharge of Public Policy and Government Affairs. The scammers, to cover their tracks, moved stolen cryptocurrency through multiple wallets, making it very difficult to trace. Insider threat has been one of reasons behind security breaches, and it seems to be the case in this breach as well. During the course of the investigation, police found evidence of possible insider involvement and arrested Rahul Agarwal, a CoinDCX employee.
Agarwal had been freelancing using a company-issued laptop without permission and he reportedly earned around Rs.15 lakhs over the past year. As of now, investigators believe he may have worked with external hackers to pull off this heist. Cyber crime teams are now working with forensic experts to track the flow of funds and recover from the stolen cryptocurrency. The compromised wallet was used for liquidity provisioning with a partner exchange – no customer wallets or user assets were affected. While claiming to be unaware of theft Rahul acknowledged receiving about Rs.15 lakhs in payment from unknown parties for his freelance work. The die is cast. The CoinDCX incident only reinforces concerns about exchange-level vulnerabilities.
THE CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO KEEP THEMSELVES SECURE.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.