WazirX will let users withdraw up to two-thirds of their Indian rupees (INR) from its platform beginning Monday, roughly one month after the Indian crypto exchange sustained losses worth $230 million in a hack.
The exchange is allowing users to take out up to 66% of the INR in their accounts, the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, crypto withdrawals remain paused for the foreseeable future, according to the exchange, due to its losses sustained across Ethereum tokens and other assets.
“Due to the cyberattack and loss of a significant balance of ERC-20 tokens as a result of the theft, there are insufficient token assets available to meet the liabilities arising from the token balances owing to users of the platform,” WazirX said Friday.
The unfreezing of withdrawals comes after WazirX said on Wednesday that it had canceled all outstanding open orders on its platform in a bid to resolve issues with its users’ account balances following a hack on its platform last month.
Crypto Exchange WazirX Halts Open Orders, Cites Ongoing Issues Involving Indian Rupee
India's crypto exchange WazirX said Wednesday it has canceled all outstanding open orders on its platform as part of "ongoing efforts" to resolve issues involving the Indian rupee and crypto balances. "Any INR and crypto assets blocked in these open orders will be added to your respective balances," WazirX said in a post to X. It follows the exchange's $230 million hack in July, which saw hackers make off with $102 million worth of Shibu Inu tokens, $52 million in Ethereum, and $11.2 million wor...
WazirX froze both crypto and INR withdrawals shortly after hackers stole $230 million from its platform on July 18. Google cybersecurity subsidiary Mandiant assessed that the hackers did not breach WazirX’s laptops, fueling speculation that hackers conducted the cyberattack by exploiting WazirX’s multi-party computation wallet.
The exchange plans to open up withdrawals in stages: Users will be able to take out roughly half of their INR from August 26 to September 8. Then, the exchange will enable them to withdraw the remainder of their rupees—up to 66% of the total INR in their accounts—between September 9 and 22.
As part of the phased withdrawal resumption, WazirX has reduced its withdrawal fees from Rs 25 to Rs 10. Still, roughly one-third of users’ rupees must remain on WazirX due to “ongoing disputes, and certain investigations by various law enforcement agencies,” the exchange said Friday.
WazirX Restoring Account Balances to What They Were Before the $230 Million Hack
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX announced plans to restore all user account balances to their state as of July 18, 2024, at 1 PM IST, when the exchange lost $230 million to attackers. According to the Aug. 8 announcement, this measure is in response to a severe cyberattack that occurred that day, causing significant disruptions to the platform's operations and user activities. WazirX lost over $230 million to the attackers, who some believe to be North Korean state-sponsored actors. Respon...
It is unclear which law enforcement agencies are investigating matters relating to WazirX and the exploit it suffered. The timing of the unfreezing of users’ cryptocurrencies and the remainder of their rupees on WazirX also remains unclear.
WazirX did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
WazirX revealed on Friday that it is pursuing a Singapore Scheme of Arrangement, a kind of legal process that will “facilitate an equitable and user-approved distribution of cryptocurrency assets.”
As part of that process, users will be able to vote on and approve any restructuring proposal before it becomes effective. However, the exchange and its advisors will largely drive the initiative, according to WazirX’s statement. It is currently unknown when a community vote on the matter could take place.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
