CoinDCX Absorbs $16 Million Loss Tied to a Retired Wallet, Says Customer Balances Are Safe

By Kevin · 2026-10-26 · News

Oct. 26 (CandyPulse) — CoinDCX, one of India's biggest crypto exchanges, has confirmed a loss of about $16 million (around 15.99 million USDT) linked to old wallets it no longer used. The exchange says it will absorb the loss itself and that customer balances are not affected.

Key takeaways

CoinDCX confirmed a loss of about $16 million in USDT
It says deposits built up at retired wallet addresses after an automated sweeping service failed for a period
The exchange will cover the loss; it says customer balances are unaffected
CEO Sumit Gupta had first called breach reports a "false alarm" before the company confirmed the loss
Tether froze about $2.21 million of the USDT involved

What happened

Question	Answer
How much was lost?	~$16M (about 15.99M USDT)
What went wrong?	A sweeping service that moves deposits from old addresses failed for a period, so funds piled up at retired wallets
Were the wallets secure?	CoinDCX called them old, deprecated infrastructure with unknown vulnerabilities
Customer funds?	Unaffected, the exchange says; accounts kept being credited
Recovered so far	~$2.21M frozen by Tether

Two versions of the story

CoinDCX describes an internal process failure. Some outlets and on-chain analysts describe it as an attack that drained the old deposit wallets, which trace back to a 2025 hack. On-chain investigator ZachXBT said one flagged address was still being used by a liquidity provider as recently as April and May 2026. The exchange's early denial, later reversed, has also drawn criticism.

What it means for users

If you use CoinDCX, the exchange says your balance is safe and it's covering the shortfall. Still, it's a reminder to only send deposits to the address the app shows you right now, and never to old addresses saved from months ago.

What's next

Watch for a full post-incident report from CoinDCX and any further recovery of funds. More security news on crypto news today.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile and can lose value. Always do your own research before making any investment decision.