WazirX plans relaunch after surviving cyberattack

WazirX, once India’s largest digital asset exchange by trade volume, is investing in collaborations and boosting its platform security as it plans to rebuild itself after a $230 million cyberattack last year. North Korea’s Lazarus Group was responsible for the WazirX hack. 

“As WazirX gears up to revive its momentum, the need for trusted partners who share our commitment to an agile and secure asset management system, combined with dependable insurance coverage, becomes urgent. We want to ensure we partner with the very best of the industry’s custody providing solutions to build trust and confidence,” Nischal Shetty, WazirX co-founder, said in a statement. 

Zettai Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based entity of WazirX responsible for crypto-to-crypto operations, has partnered with BitGo Trust Company, a top regulated digital asset custodian and infrastructure provider. This collaboration is designed to strengthen the security of funds on the platform. 

Zettai Pte Ltd, which is currently undergoing a restructuring scheme in the Singapore High Court, said that it had selected BitGo Trust as the regulated custodian of choice given the company’s track record of securing digital assets since 2013. BitGo’s institutional-grade technological infrastructure includes multi-signature wallets with robust policies, controls, and up to $250 million in insurance coverage. WazirX said that BitGo Trust supports over 1,100 coins and tokens and has the broadest support of the top 100 assets by market cap, more than any other custodian in the space. 

BitGo Trust, known for its role as the trusted custodian for managing assets and distributing funds to Mt. Gox and FTX 
creditors, brings extensive experience in asset protection and rebuilding trust. WazirX said that users can expect a more secure and dependable trading environment supported by institutional-grade security measures as it resumes its operations.

Zettai Pte. Ltd. has also confirmed the completion of an independent verification of its Platform Assets and Platform Liabilities. This evaluation was carried out by the Independent Assessors (IA) for the Scheme process, Joshua Taylor from Alvarez & Marsal (SE Asia) Pte Ltd, and Henry Anthony Chambers from Alvarez & Marsal Disputes & Investigations Pte Ltd.

The IA also independently verified various aspects, including the existence, control, and amount of the Platform Assets. This encompassed the Net Liquid Platform Assets, which consist of token assets held with BitGo on four major digital asset exchanges and in nine cold wallet addresses, totaling an equivalent of $478.5 million as of January 17, 2025. The IA also verified the Illiquid Platform Assets, which include, among other things, the Stolen Assets and Illiquid Wallet Assets.

WazirX said that the verification by the Independent Assessors ensures vital transparency and integrity in confirming the Platform Assets and Platform Liabilities. This verification has been used by WazirX’s financial advisors, Kroll, to support their comprehensive financial projections and liquidation analysis for the Scheme.

Down but not out

In January, CoinDCX, India’s first digital currency unicorn, had shown interest in acquiring the WazirX exchange, while CoinSwitch launched a $70 million asset recovery initiative to assist WazirX users who were impacted by the cyberattack of July 2024.

These acquisition and financial support offers came at a time when India’s digital asset exchanges may be heading toward consolidation. Smaller exchanges may either shut down or merge with larger counterparts, primarily due to the country’s challenging taxation policies.

Despite the odds, WazirX said in an X post that it had survived seven years of highs and lows while pushing through every challenge. 

“We’ve faced setbacks before and come back stronger. Today, we stand at another turning point. We may be down, but we are NOT OUT,” WazirX added.

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