WazirX Hacker Explodes $149M, Hamster Combat Users Suffer Phishing Attacks: Finances Revealed Again
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of decentralized financial insights – a newsletter designed to bring you the most relevant developments from the past week.
This week has brought more negative news in the DeFi space. Hackers staged the second largest crypto heist of the year, stealing over $230 million worth of digital assets from Indian crypto exchange WazirX.
Players of the viral Telegram-based clicker game Hamster Kombat are also being attacked by malicious actors who organize fake crypto airdrops.
In a significant victory for the industry, the infamous crypto phishing app Angel Drainer has been shut down without the identity of its creators.
Finally, a merchant victim of a phishing attack 10 months ago recovered $9.3 million in stablecoin stolen by the attacker in a lucky but mysterious turn of events.
WazirX hacker transferred $149 million SHIB, MATIC and other altcoins to ETH
The hacker behind the $235 million cryptocurrency exchange exploit, WazirX, converted nearly $150 million worth of altcoins into Ether (ETH) — a move likely intended to prevent funds from being blocked or blacklisted.
The bulk funds transferred to Ether on July 18 and 19 included $90.2 million in Shiba Inu ( SHIB ), $10.2 million in MATIC ( MATIC ) and nearly $7.5 million in Pepe ( PEPE ), according to blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain.
The transfers now bring the total stolen funds held in Ether to $201 million, up from $52 million initially.
Continue reading
Pixelverse's PIXFI token rose nearly 50% in the first hours after the airdrop.
Pixelverse, a token and gaming platform that runs on the Open Network (TON), launched PIXFI native on July 18 in the much-anticipated airdrop.
According to CoinMarketCap, the TonCoin (TON) token traded up nearly 50% in the first hours after it was listed and had a fully diluted market capitalization of nearly $200 million before retreating later in the day.
The PIXFI token is now listed on several centralized exchanges, including Bybit, HTX, Gate, Bitget, and MEXC, according to a post by X from Pixelverse.
Continue reading
It was reported that the devs closed after the announcement of Angel Drenner
Popular crypto-messaging app AngelDraner has reportedly been shut down by its developers after what could be identified, according to a July 16 report by blockchain security firm Mach Systems.
Security analysts have previously blamed Angel Drenner for more than $25 million lost in crypto from phishing scams.
Flushing programs are applications that allow phishers to easily withdraw the wallet by spoofing accidental token approvals. In most cases, drains are offered to scammers in exchange for a portion of the stolen loot the scammers receive.
Continue reading
Fraudster returns $9.3 million in dice to victim after 10 months of phishing
A phishing scammer accidentally returned nearly $9.3 million to a victim after stealing $24 million in a September 2023 phishing attack.
First spotted by Scam Sniffer on July 13, the scammer used the Dai (DAI) stablecoin to withdraw funds in two transactions last week.
The first transfer of $5.23 million was returned on July 8, while another $4.04 million was sent on July 13 at 12:06 pm UTC, Etherscan data shows.
Continue reading
Hamster Kombat users have been targeted by phishing attacks and fake airdrops
Hamster Kombat players are being attacked by scammers and malicious actors trying to tap into the game's viral popularity to profit.
Players of the Telegram-based game, one of the fastest-growing mobile games, are being chased by fraudsters by tricking victims into taking certain actions that benefit the attackers.
The phishing attacks were recently discovered by cybersecurity company Kaspersky, security expert Olga Svistanova said. She told Cointelegraph:
“In one scheme, fraudsters trick victims by promising to convert in-game coins to rubles via phishing links that ask for Telegram login credentials.”
Continue reading
Overview of the DeFi market
Most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap ended the week in the green, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Of the 100, Solana-based memecoin Dogwifhat (WIF) posted the biggest weekly gain of 54%, followed by Worldcoin (WLD), which gained more than 47% on the weekly chart.
Investor sentiment has improved significantly, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index indicating investors are in “deep fear” last week with a “Greed” tick on the 25th.
Thanks for reading this week's roundup of the most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and lessons about this dynamic and evolving space.
