CoinDCX Hit by $15.99M Crypto Hack, Tether Steps In to Freeze Funds

TLDR

• CoinDCX lost about 15.99 million USDT after funds were taken from an old wallet it stopped using in 2025.
• The exchange says it will cover the full loss and that customer funds are safe.
• A failed automatic “sweeping” service let deposits build up in the old wallet.
• Tether blacklisted linked wallets, and about $2.2 million has been frozen.
• CoinDCX plans to tighten controls on old systems and remind users to update deposit addresses.

Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX has reported a loss of about 15.99 million USDT after funds were moved out of an old wallet it no longer used. The company said it has absorbed the loss and customers will not bear the cost.

The exchange said its active wallets and trading systems were not affected. Customer funds remain in separate cold wallets, and trading, deposits and withdrawals continued without a pause.

How the CoinDCX Wallet Hack Happened

CoinDCX said it first noticed unusual activity in its systems on October 21. The company said its controls stopped any impact on its active wallets and trading systems.

The next day, the exchange saw irregular fund movements in blockchain data and in reports from users. A deeper review found that the activity hit an old wallet setup that had unknown weaknesses.

That wallet setup was compromised during a security incident on July 19, 2025. CoinDCX stopped using the infrastructure after that breach.

Even so, some users kept sending deposits to the old addresses instead of the new ones shown in the app. CoinDCX said it continued to process these deposits so users would not lose their money.

The exchange runs two separate processes for these deposits. First, it credits the user’s account as soon as funds arrive. Then a separate service moves, or “sweeps,” the funds into its main secure wallet.

CoinDCX said this sweeping service failed for a period of time. As a result, deposits built up in the old address and were exposed when the activity took place.

The company has not shared full details on how the funds were withdrawn from the wallet. It has also not named who was behind the activity.

Tether Freezes Part of the Lost Funds

Reports on October 24 and 25 said Tether had blacklisted wallets linked to the outflow. Tether, which issues USDT, has the ability to block wallets that hold its token.

Blockchain analytics firm AMLBot said about $2.2 million of the funds was frozen. That amount equals roughly 13.8% of the reported loss.

A freeze stops the funds from moving, but it does not mean they have been returned. CoinDCX would need to confirm any recovery first, and the remaining funds still need to be traced.

CoinDCX said customer crypto balances are unaffected and fully accounted for. The company said it had run for 72 hours with no downtime, no withdrawal limits and no trading disruption.

The exchange admitted it “could have been more proactive” in sharing the news. It said it waited until it had the complete picture before posting an update.

CoinDCX said it will strengthen monitoring and controls around its old systems. It also plans to remind users regularly that old deposit addresses are only kept for a limited time.

In its update published on October 25, the company advised users to check the latest deposit address in the app or website before every deposit. It warned that sending funds to old addresses is highly risky and that exchanges do not usually take responsibility for them.

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