How the WazirX Hack Affects Crypto Market Prices

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As a seasoned researcher with extensive experience in the cryptocurrency market, I have witnessed numerous hacks and exploits over the years. The recent WazirX hack, which resulted in the theft of $230 million worth of crypto assets, is a stark reminder of the inherent risks in this space. However, my analysis of the market’s response to this event suggests that the crypto industry has evolved significantly in handling such news.

The WazirX hack, resulting in a loss of approximately $230 million, has had a noticeable effect on the cryptocurrency market. Based on information from Coingecko, the overall value of the crypto industry decreased by 1.3% within the past 24 hours. Remarkably, the WRX token, which is traded on the WazirX exchange, was not among the stolen digital assets. As reported by Reuters, this incident brings the total amount of cryptocurrencies lost due to hacks in 2023 to a staggering $1.868 billion. Let’s examine how the crypto market prices have been affected following the WazirX hack.

General Market Relatively Unscathed by WazirX Hack

The broader cryptocurrency community displayed a composed response to the WazirX hack announcement, with the majority of digital assets maintaining their value or experiencing only minor decreases. Contrastingly, Dogewhat (WIF) and Solana (SOL) saw price growth during this time. This episode underscores the maturing nature of the crypto market in dealing with adversity.

The WRX token from the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX is currently among the biggest losers on CoinGecko, having decreased by approximately 9.2% within the last 24 hours. This hack marks the second largest security breach recorded in 2023, surpassed only by the $308 million loss suffered by Japanese exchange DMM during a Bitcoin exploit earlier this year.

The overall investment climate continues to be optimistic with the upcoming Ethereum ETF debut and the nearing Bitcoin Conference in 2024.

Major Coins Remain Relatively Stable

A hacker has amassed more than $201 million worth of stolen assets into Ethereum. This development has sparked concerns that a massive sell-off could overshadow Ethereum’s significant upcoming events. However, the Ethereum price forecast remains resilient at approximately $3,430, and the price action is exhibiting a symmetrical triangle pattern that is expected to result in an upward breakout. The support level at $3,300 is robust, aligning with the 200-day simple moving average.

In the past 24 hours, the value of Bitcoin decreased by approximately 1.3%. This price drop could be linked to recent news events. Nevertheless, based on data from Lookonchain, Bitcoin was not identified among the targeted cryptocurrencies for theft.

Update:#WazirX has ~$230M in assets stolen. Including:

Based on my extensive experience in the cryptocurrency market and having closely followed the trends and developments in the world of digital assets, I can tell you that the following represents a snapshot of the current market values for several popular coins as of now:

Please note that the hacker is selling these assets!

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 18, 2024

As a researcher studying Bitcoin price trends, I can tell you that the bullish outlook continues for Bitcoin’s price. Currently, it sits above both the 21-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the 50-day SMA. The latter acts as a supportive level around $62,500. With the Bitcoin Conference 2024 fast approaching, this price range could potentially serve as an attractive bounce-back point for investors.

As a market analyst, I’ve observed that among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, XRP experienced the most substantial loss in value over the past 24 hours, amounting to a decrease of 4.1%. Notably, XRP is not included in the list of stolen tokens. Consequently, it’s reasonable to assume that the decline in its value is unrelated to the recent exchange hack. The remaining significant crypto assets have generally remained resilient against the security breach.

MATIC, PEPE, and SHIB Price Show Resilience After WazirX Hack

In the stolen cryptocurrencies, Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), and Polygon (MATIC) represented the largest shares with a combined value of $102 million for SHIB alone being dumped by the suspected Lazarus Group. Despite this, Shiba Inu demonstrated remarkable strength as its price dipped 1.6% in the previous day but still managed to register a weekly growth of 6.7%.

Over the past day, PEPE‘s value has decreased by 5%, but in contrast, it has surged by 32% within the last week. A recent hack resulted in the theft of an enormous amount, approximately 640 billion PEPE tokens, equivalent to around $7.6 million. This incident instilled fear among the Pepe community. Nevertheless, PEPE’s price behavior exhibits significant underlying support near the $0.0000106 mark (50-Simple Moving Average). Should the price drop further, this level could potentially prevent a more drastic decrease in PEPE’s value.

How the WazirX Hack Affects Crypto Market Prices

The WazirX security breach led to the theft of approximately $11 million in Polygon (MATIC) tokens. Consequently, MATIC has experienced a 4.6% decrease in value over the past day. Currently, Matic’s price is below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and a death cross occurred on April 25. However, it’s worth noting that the short-term bearish outlook for MATIC may be more influenced by the upcoming transition to the POL token, scheduled for September 4.

Bottom Line

In 2024, the WazirX hack represented one of the biggest losses, totaling $230 million. Yet, most cryptocurrencies have been relatively unaffected due to the increasing market maturity. The hack has raised security concerns and could potentially decrease investor confidence. However, the ability of both affected tokens and the broader crypto market to bounce back demonstrates the growing strength and resilience within the crypto industry.

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2024-07-19 13:54