CoinDCX’s $42M Hack Exposed: Why Self-Custody Wallets Are Now Non-Negotiable

Crypto's latest 'oops' moment: Indian exchange CoinDCX gets drained for $42M—while traditional bankers sip champagne and whisper 'told you so.'

Not your keys, not your crypto. The old mantra just got new teeth.

Cold wallets vs. hot wallets: The $42M case study

Exchanges keep failing the stress test. Hardware wallets don't. The math isn't complicated—unless you're an exchange security auditor.

India's crypto awakening hits a speed bump

Just as the subcontinent warms to digital assets, its second-largest exchange becomes a cautionary tale. Timing couldn't be worse—or more instructive.

The institutional irony

Hedge funds demand 'regulated custodians' while quietly moving coins to Trezors. Even Wall Street knows the drill—they just won't admit it over canapés.

Wake-up call or snooze button?

Another hack, another round of 'enhanced security measures.' Meanwhile, Ledger sales spike. The market speaks in actions, not press releases.

In yet another sign of the growing wave of cyberattacks targeting crypto exchanges, a new victim has emerged: CoinDCX, one of India’s largest crypto platforms. The exchange, which boasts over 16M registered users and handles close to $800M in quarterly trading volume, has just suffered a major breach.

Hackers managed to drain approximately $42M from the exchange. According to an on-chain investigator, ZachXBT, the attacker’s wallet was funded with just 1 $ETH via Tornado Cash, a known crypto mixer, and a portion of the stolen funds was later bridged from solana to Ethereum.

Source: ZachXBT

A small silver lining, however, is that no user funds were affected in the breach, as the hack targeted CoinDCX’s internal operational wallets rather than its customer holdings.

“The incident was quickly contained by isolating the affected operational account. Since our operational accounts are segregated from customer wallets, the exposure is only limited to this specific account and is being fully absorbed by us, from our own treasury reserves.” – CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta

Keep reading to understand why these kinds of attacks are becoming more frequent, and why they’re a wake-up call for anyone still storing their assets on centralized platforms.

We’ll also introduce you to Best Wallet, a next-gen self-custodial crypto wallet powered by $BEST, which you can both use for secure storage and invest in as the altcoin market heats up.

A Pattern Emerging? CoinDCX Hack Isn’t an Isolated Incident

CoinDCX’s breach is the latest in a series of high-profile crypto exchange attacks, and it’s starting to raise some eyebrows.

Take WazirX, another major Indian crypto exchange, which was hacked for nearly $235M almost exactly one year ago to the day. The timing is uncanny. Was it a coincidence, or is there a pattern of attackers specifically targeting Indian platforms around this time of year? It’s impossible to say for certain, but the similarity is hard to ignore.

Just last month, Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex also fell victim to a hack, losing over $90M in what was a politically-motivated attack. These incidents paint a broader picture of growing vulnerabilities in centralized platforms across regions.

According to blockchain security firm CertiK, the first half of 2025 saw a staggering $2.47B lost to crypto theft. The top culprits? Phishing attacks, code vulnerabilities, and wallet compromises.

All in all, with the crypto landscape rife with cyberattacks, the need for a secure storage solution that puts you in full control of your assets is at an all-time high. Enter Best Wallet.

How Best Wallet Secures Your Crypto

First and foremost, Best Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet, meaning you alone control your private keys. No third party. This is a potential game-changer in today’s hack-prone environment.

Unlike centralized exchanges or custodial wallets, self-custody ensures that no one but you can access or MOVE your assets, protecting you from unauthorized breaches and centralized failures.

In terms of features, Best Wallet comes packed with powerful security tools. From multi-factor authentication options, including biometric logins, to Fireblocks-powered MPC (multi-party computation) encryption, the app leverages some of the most advanced technologies in the space.

These don’t just enhance login security, but they also safeguard your keys without ever exposing them, even during transactions.

It’s also worth noting that while the app is still under active development, the project’s roadmap promises even more cutting-edge protections soon, including anti-fraud systems and advanced defenses against MEV (Miner Extractable Value) attacks, which have become a growing threat in the DeFi world.

Beyond Security: The Only Wallet Built for Meme Coin Degens

One of the standout features of Best Wallet is that it lets you buy meme coins in presale from directly within the app.

Unlike traditional crypto wallets that require you to visit third-party websites to participate in presales, Best Wallet allows users to browse, evaluate, and buy upcoming tokens right from the in-app ‘Upcoming’ section.

This makes Best Wallet the only crypto wallet on the market right now that lets you buy presale tokens natively, without needing to connect to risky dApps or switch between platforms.

And it’s not just about convenience; there’s a huge security advantage too. Every token listed in Best Wallet’s presale section is manually vetted by the internal team, helping you steer clear of scams, rug pulls, and shady projects.

Buy $BEST & Become Part of Best Wallet’s Growth

The “best” part? Best Wallet has its own native cryptocurrency, Best Wallet Token ($BEST), and owning it gives you front-row seats to the app’s success.

Speaking of which, Best Wallet is aiming high, with plans to capture over 40% of the entire non-custodial crypto wallet market by 2027.

Better still, $BEST is currently in presale, which means you can get in at one of the lowest entry points. At the time of writing, the project has already raised over $14M, and each token is available for just $0.025355.

And besides benefitting from an increase in your investment value, holding $BEST also unlocks a suite of other in-app benefits.

These include generous staking rewards (currently yielding 97%), governance rights to help shape the app’s future, discounted transaction and gas fees, and early access to new meme coins presales.

To learn more about the industry’s newest non-custodial crypto wallet, check out Best Wallet’s official whitepaper. Also, join its X feed and Telegram channel for regular updates.

Disclaimer: Investments in crypto are highly risky due to the market’s volatility and uncertainty. This article is not financial advice, and you must always do your own research before investing.

This is a sponsored article. Opinions expressed are solely those of the sponsor and readers should conduct their own due diligence before taking any action based on information presented in this article.