Following the silence of almost two weeks on the status of an Indian user losing 3 BTC from the CoinDCX wallet, the exchange has finally issued an official statement, stating that they will compensate the user's loss if the investigation suggests that CoinDCX is culpable of error.

The Matter - Indian exchange suffers 3BTC hack

CoinDCX, an Indian crypto exchange is claimed to be covering up a suspected loophole on their exchange platform after a user was robbed of 3 BTC. The hacker was said to have gotten access to the victim's (@grewalvicky007) email and tried to perpetuate the evil deed but was met with a stumbling block after he tried to reset the victim's password on the CoinDCX platform. He soon got into the victim's account via the reset password via email option available on the platform and swiftly moved to withdraw the funds in the account.

He failed to withdraw the funds as the OTP code meant for withdrawal would be initially sent to the victim's mobile phone. He then went ahead to change the 2FA authenticator to allow codes to be sent to the victim's email and after verification, he stole the funds and eliminated all traces relating to the transactions he carried out. This has prompted a viral message to have made the rounds in the country since last week with major investors lending their voices to the cause. CoinDCX received the massive question, especially from the Indian crypto community on youtube, Twitter, and the media publications.

Indian crypto community kicks against CoinDCX silence

The user said to have reached out to the officials of CoinDCX soon after he discovered that he lost funds. Speaking on behalf of the said victim, @CrypoPointHi said on Twitter questioned CoinDCX, Why OTP was sent to email instead of SMS or Authenticator?, What Does Manual vetting mean?, Why no 24 hrs hold after any password-change?

However, according to his audio clip shared with the help of YouTuber, Sandeep, the user asked the exchange's official if he can report to the police. Responding to his question, the exchange's official said that they aren't registered in India, henceforth, Indian laws will not apply to CoinDCX exchange. On this note, another Indian crypto community member added; 

"If Indian crypto exchanges are not registered in India as per Indian law then how they can say "Indian Exchanges"? Why not exchanges mention their office addresses??".

CoinDCX, the exchange in question has been silent over the incident which has promoted people to deduce that they are trying to cover the incident up and settling the victim or trying to fix the loophole first before making a statement. With recent trials of the method of the hack showing that the loophole has been fully fixed after the previous ones showed a partial fix, we are keeping our fingers crossed on the victim's case.

CoinDCX issues statement

After silence and neglect for about two weeks, CoinDCX on Monday noted that they are working towards the provision of 100% security on their website. The statement was as follows

"When we claim to be the safest cryptocurrency exchange, it is not simply a marketing statement. Security is an evolving process and today’s best security systems are a result of various loopholes that attackers have managed to manipulate. With security systems, there is never 100% certainty as hackers and thieves spend their careers looking for ways into the system.

The exchange further added, if the investigation even remotely suggests that CoinDCX is culpable of error, we are ready to compensate the user 100% of his lost funds. We’ll do this from our pocket even if the insurance claims don’t go through. This is our commitment."

Where to safely keep your crypto assets?

Major analysts and investors have always kicked against the storing of crypto assets on exchanges and online wallets because a good hacker can just waltz in and steal funds. The fact that the network is decentralized enough which makes pinpointing the owner of most wallets hard is enough reason why most people should not harbor the thoughts of safekeeping of their assets on an exchange wallet. 

Cold storage wallets which are also known as desktop wallets are a few of the wallets where you can keep your crypto assets. In this way, you are safekeeping your assets, you won't stand the risk of losing your keys or getting robbed on an exchange and losing your funds. Another seemingly safe wallet is a hardware wallet that uses ticks on a USB where assets can be stored and can be carried around at all times.