WazirX Token Up 43% Following Regulatory Update in India

Indian crypto exchange WazirX has seen its native WRX token shoot up 43% in the past 24 hours—it’s now worth over $1.93.

The rapid rise is due to its newly launched non-fungible token (NFT) platform, as well as fresh clarity on the status of cryptocurrencies from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) WazirX CEO, Nischal Shetty told Decrypt today. 

“The RBI clarification to banks in India is a positive move. Along with that, we just announced the launch of our NFT platform," said Shetty. “These are two of the major reasons for excitement amongst WRX believers.”

On Monday, the RBI told banks not to rely on an old circular it had issued in 2017, which said that banks shouldn’t work with crypto exchanges. 

The circular has caused a great deal of confusion about the status of cryptocurrencies in India. It was debunked by the Supreme Court last year. However, uncertainty lingered, leaving Indian crypto firms in limbo until yesterday.

Alongside the positive regulatory news, the new NFT marketplace, which claims to be the first in South Asia, will allow users to own unique digital works of art and creators to tap into an economy that has exploded in recent months.

Unlike similar platforms like Opensea, the new WazirX platform has no listing fees. It also offers cashback, rewards worth up to $50,000, and minimal gas fees, according to WazirX. 

India’s fastest-growing crypto exchange

Launched in 2018, and owned by the sector’s largest exchange, Binance, WazirX claims to be India's fastest growing crypto exchange with over 400,000 users. Like Binance, it offers a P2P trading engine that automatically matches users to exchange between each other.

WRX is WazirX’s native utility token. The token’s circulation and issuance is on Binance Smart Chain, Binance’s native blockchain. The token will also play a key role on the NFT platform.

"Users can buy or sell their NFT - using - WRX, the native token of WazirX. All items listed on the platform, for now, are based on the ‘Fixed Price’ model," said Priyanka Sharma, WazirX's marketing lead told Decrypt.

Still, the latest RBI memo is no panacea in the wake of continuing regulatory uncertainty—particularly when the bigger banks still won’t deal with crypto companies, Zakhil Suresh, founder of crypto trading simulator SuperStox, told Decrypt on Monday. 

“Multiple bank managers have told me they are not allowing crypto as per their internal compliance policy—not because of the RBI,” he said. 

Additional reporting by Liam J. Kelly.