Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has announced plans to restore all user account balances to their state as of July 18, when the platform lost $230 million in a cyberattack.
The Mumbai-based company halted trading following the incident. The attack, reportedly linked to the North Korean Lazarus Group, compromised nearly half of its reserves, marking India’s largest crypto heist.
WazirX Fixes Balances Post $230 Million Hack
In an August 8 announcement, WazirX stated that all trades made after July 18 will be nullified. Officials explained that this step is necessary to ensure fair treatment for all users affected by the attack.
The restoration process will unfold over the next few days. Users will receive email notifications detailing the reversed trades. This measure will impact both cryptocurrency balances and Indian rupee (INR) holdings, undoing all crypto-to-INR and INR-to-crypto transactions made during the affected period.
“We are constrained to restore the balances of all accounts and undo all trades carried out on the WazirX platform following the stoppage of withdrawals on 18 July 2024, 1 PM IST,” the exchange announced.
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As BeInCrypto previously reported, WazirX lost over $230 million to the attackers, suspected by some to be North Korean state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus. The exact cause of the breach is still under investigation. The exchange suggested that the hackers compromised the systems of its custody service provider, Liminal. However, Liminal has refuted this claim.
Despite the seemingly positive news, WazirX users remain far from optimistic. Ten days after the incident, the exchange unveiled a “recovery plan” that involved rebalancing customer portfolios. WazirX intended to return just 55% of users’ holdings, with the remaining 45% locked in USDT-equivalent tokens.
The proposal sparked outrage among platform users, especially since it impacted those not directly affected by the hack. Critics argued that WazirX’s actions go beyond typical exchange responsibilities by redistributing assets, questioning why the company isn’t using its profit reserves to cover the losses.
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Although the company appears to have abandoned the original plan, dissatisfaction continues to grow. WazirX customers affected by the platform hack are sharing their stories on the “Justice for WazirX Users” account on X and a Telegram group of the same name, warning that the exchange’s actions could lead to stricter government regulation.
“All thanks to @WazirXIndia , trust in crypto investments in India is gonna back to what it was 3-4 years back! @NischalShetty should be brought in for questioning! We are for sure going to see harsher rules from government coming up soon!” one of affected WazirX customers wrote.
As of now, all trading and withdrawal activities on WazirX remain halted. The suspension will remain in place until the exchange completes the restoration process, though it has not provided a specific timeline.
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