Mumbai, August 3: A 30-year-old software engineer has been arrested in connection with the massive INR 384-crore (USD 44 million) cryptocurrency theft from CoinDCX, a leading crypto exchange platform based in India. Rahul Agarwal, a full-time employee at CoinDCX, was taken into custody on July 26 by the Whitefield CEN Crime Police after a complaint was filed by the companyโ€™s parent firm, Neblio Technologies. The heist occurred in the early hours of July 19, when the company detected a major security breach in its systems.

According to CoinDCX, the breach began with a small unauthorised transfer of cryptocurrency around 2:37 am, but escalated rapidly. By 9:40 am, nearly USD 44 million worth of digital assets had been siphoned off and distributed across six separate wallets. The company launched an internal investigation, which revealed that only one employee's system had been compromised, Rahul Agarwalโ€™s office-issued laptop. The breach exploited his login credentials, allowing the hacker direct access to CoinDCXโ€™s servers.ย CoinDCX Hacked: Indian Crypto Exchange CEO Sumit Gupta Announces Recovery Bounty Program After Cyberattack, Reward up to 25%.

Who Is Rahul Agarwal,ย CoinDCX Employee Held for Over INR 384 Crore Crypto Theft?

Rahul Agarwal, a resident of Carmelaram in Bengaluru and originally from Uttarakhand's Haridwar, has denied direct involvement in the theft. However, during questioning, he admitted to freelancing for three to four unidentified private clients, a practice known as moonlighting. He revealed that he had received a WhatsApp call from a German number asking him to complete certain tasks, suggesting that one of the files he worked on may have been a trap used to inject malware into his system. A suspicious deposit of INR 15 lakh into his account is also under investigation.ย CoinDCX Co-Founder Neeraj Khandelwal Dismisses Coinbase Acquisition Rumours.

Bengaluru police continue to investigate possible links to external hackers and the source of the INR 15 lakh deposit in Rahul Agarwal's bank accounts. CoinDCX has assured users that customer funds remain secure, and the company is working with the police to recover the stolen assets and tighten internal cybersecurity protocols.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 03, 2025 10:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).