CoinDCX confirms $16 million loss from retired wallets days after CEO called breach reports a 'false alarm'

Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX has confirmed a loss of 15.99 million USDT, worth about $16 million. The funds were taken from deposit wallets the exchange had stopped using after an earlier security incident. The Block reported the confirmation on October 25, 2026.

The admission follows a public denial. Co-founder and CEO Sumit Gupta told users on X earlier in the week that the first breach reports sounded like a false alarm. According to the coverage, Gupta suggested the alarm could be linked to attackers reusing old addresses rather than a fresh compromise of the exchange's current wallets.

CoinDCX's official update dated October 25 changed that picture. The company said its team had noticed unusual activity earlier in the week. It later traced that activity to a loss tied to wallet infrastructure that had been compromised in a previous security incident.

According to the reports, the affected address was a legacy wallet generated in January 2025. CoinDCX abandoned it after a security incident in July of the same year. Some deposits still arrived at the old address, apparently by mistake. Funds that reach a deposit address would normally be moved on to the exchange's main wallets by an automated sweeping service. Reports say that service failed in this case. As a result, deposits accumulated in the deprecated wallet infrastructure, where attackers were later able to take them.

CoinDCX said it will absorb the loss itself. It also said customer balances are unaffected and that its services remain operational. Those statements come from the company. The coverage summarized here does not include an independent audit of the exchange's reserves or wallets.

The episode has two parts. The first is the technical cause. Exchanges typically assign users unique deposit addresses and consolidate the incoming funds into central wallets. If an old address keeps receiving funds after it has been retired, and the sweeping process no longer covers it, assets can sit in a wallet that is no longer closely monitored. If the keys or infrastructure behind that wallet were compromised earlier, the assets are exposed.

The second part is communication. The exchange first described the early reports as a likely false alarm, and then within days confirmed a loss of almost $16 million. The reporting highlights the gap between those two statements. It does not say whether the earlier remark was made before the company had finished its internal review.

CoinDCX is described as one of India's leading crypto trading platforms. The July 2025 incident that led it to retire the wallets is the earlier event referred to in the coverage. This latest loss is tied to the aftermath of that event rather than to a new breach of the exchange's active wallets, according to the company's account.

For users, the practical points are limited. The exchange says no customer funds were lost and that it is covering the shortfall. Anyone using an exchange should avoid sending funds to deposit addresses that have been retired or replaced. They should rely on the current address shown in the official app or website. Further details, including any additional findings on how the attackers gained access, may emerge in later updates from CoinDCX or from independent security researchers.

This article is for information only. It is not financial or investment advice.

This is a news summary for general information only — not financial advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Always verify against the original source and do your own research before making a financial decision.