WazirX to Resume Trading and Withdrawals More Than a Year After $234M Hack

Indian crypto exchange WazirX will restart operations on October 24 with zero trading fees across all markets, more than a year after hackers stole $234 million in one of the largest cyberattacks in crypto history.

Backed by 95.7% of creditors, WazirX’s Singapore court–approved restructuring plan allows the exchange to reopen for 6.6 million users locked out since the July 2024 hack tied to North Korean attackers, following months of legal hurdles and creditor votes.

The platform is working toward issuing Recovery Tokens to creditors, with token distributions beginning once operations resume. INR withdrawals are already live, with crypto trading and withdrawals starting Friday.

Trading will resume in stages, with around 25% of tokens enabled each day until full functionality is restored by Monday, starting with crypto-to-crypto and the USDT/INR pair before other INR markets are added, according to a statement shared with Decrypt.

Users could potentially recover 75% to 80% of their frozen account balances through the company’s proposed recovery token system, though several have reported receiving less than expected and raised concerns over inconsistent payout calculations.

WazirX has partnered with BitGo to provide insured, institutional-grade custody for user assets, a key security upgrade after last year’s breach, said founder Nischal Shetty.

“WazirX’s relaunch with BitGo custody is a positive step toward rebuilding trust; however, some users on X are reporting they’ve received only about 30% of their funds or are facing calculation discrepancies,” Pushpendra Singh, a crypto influencer and vocal critic following the hack, told Decrypt. “I hope WazirX addresses these complaints quickly—users have already waited long enough to get their funds back.”

Mixed reactions

However, the restart has drawn mixed reactions, with several users taking to X to criticize the platform.

“Why the **** they asking for deposit before even returning the users who lost money for no reason. What kind of scam is this? And what gives them this strength to even do it?” one user tweeted, questioning the exchange’s operations.

“The core issue with WazirX was always opacity, unclear ownership, inconsistent communication, and no verifiable proof of reserves,” CA Sonu Jain, chief risk and compliance officer at 9Point Capital, and a vocal critic of WazirX’s post-hack operations, told Decrypt.

“Unless the new entity publishes independently verified audits and clear accountability for prior user funds, this ‘fresh chapter’ risks repeating the same governance failures under a new rebranded banner,” he added.

Jain also pointed to operational issues, noting that many investors are facing re-KYC requirements that are delaying the process, with some of his clients still unable to withdraw INR despite the platform’s claims that withdrawals are live.

Decrypt has reached out to WazirX for comment and will update this article should they respond.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court ordered Zettai in August to produce its acquisition agreement with Binance and disclose restructuring scheme details, as creditors still push for transparency following the hack.

“As per the information so far, we estimate that investors would gain back access to about 4000cr,” Edul Patel, CEO of Indian crypto exchange Mudrex, told Decrypt.

“While the 15% shortfall remains a concern, the structured recovery and transparent communication show a strong intent to rebuild trust, not only on the platform but also in the industry,” he added.