India’s WazirX Moves to Repay Users After July’s $234M Hack

WazirX, once India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has cleared a key hurdle in its path to recovery. On April 7, Zettai Pte Ltd.—the Singapore-based parent company of WazirX—announced that over 93% of the exchange’s creditors have voted in favor of its proposed restructuring plan. 

This milestone is a crucial step for WazirX, which has faced intense pressure since the $234 million massive cyberattack in July 2024 wiped out nearly half of its assets.

The creditor vote, conducted between March 19 and 28 via the Kroll Issuer Services platform, saw 141,476 creditors participate. These participants represented approved claims worth $195.65 million. Of these, 131,659 creditors—holding $184.99 million in claims—voted in favor of the restructuring. That accounts for 93.1% of voters by count and 94.6% by value.

Under Singaporean law, the plan needed support from at least 50% of creditors by number and 75% by value to move forward. WazirX easily exceeded those thresholds.

To ensure transparency, the results were verified by Alvarez & Marsal, a global consultancy firm. Joshua Taylor and Henry A. Chambers from the firm served as independent assessors. WazirX also stated it will share a formal vote report with creditors, along with anonymized results.

The next step is a final review by the Singapore High Court. If the court sanctions the outcome, the restructuring scheme will become effective. WazirX has pledged to distribute the promised assets to creditors within 10 business days of court approval.

From Crisis to Courtroom: How the Vote Came to Be

The approval comes months after WazirX approached the Singapore High Court with a proposal to settle its outstanding debts. The exchange’s plan, known legally as a “scheme of arrangement,” promised to resolve 85.5% of the claims using its current liquid assets. The court approved the scheme, and it was then put to vote by a select group of creditors.

WazirX’s financial troubles began with a high-profile hack in July 2024. The breach led to the loss of over $230 million worth of assets, roughly 45% of the exchange’s holdings. The attackers were later linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. They compromised the exchange’s multi-signature wallets and laundered stolen tokens like Ethereum ETH, SHIB, and MATIC through platforms such as Tornado Cash.

After the incident, WazirX froze all withdrawals. The company initially proposed a controversial plan to “socialise” losses by locking 45% of every user’s crypto and letting them trade the rest. Following heavy backlash, that plan was scrapped.

WazirX’s Plan: Liquid Assets and Recovery Tokens

At the heart of WazirX’s restructuring is a two-part plan. First, the company aims to repay 75% to 80% of each creditor’s claim using liquid assets in USDT. These payouts will be calculated based on each user’s proportional claim from the total liability pool of $545.3 million.

The remaining 14.5% will be covered through “Recovery Tokens.” These tokens will be distributed pro-rata and tied to WazirX’s future profits and revenue from its upcoming decentralized exchange (DEX). The exchange has committed to quarterly reviews to determine how much of these tokens can be bought back using any unencumbered funds it manages to recover.

This structure allows the company to resume operations while ensuring affected users see some returns without waiting for a full asset recovery or legal closure.

Rebuilding Trust After the July Breach

WazirX’s founder Nischal Shetty welcomed the outcome of the vote, calling it a “strong vote of confidence.” He added, “This consistent support across our entire base demonstrates shared belief in our restructuring approach and recovery plan.”

Still, the exchange knows it faces a long road ahead. Investor confidence was deeply shaken after the July breach. In one particularly high-profile fallout, rival exchange CoinSwitch threatened legal action after failing to recover its funds from WazirX.

The exchange’s credibility took a further hit when details emerged that the hackers had exploited internal vulnerabilities and laundered the funds across multiple chains. The Delhi Police’s IFSO division even arrested a suspect in West Bengal in connection to the breach.

A Turning Point, But Not a Conclusion

While the creditor vote is a significant step forward, it does not mark the end of WazirX’s troubles. The exchange must now deliver on its promise—rebuilding its reserves, restoring trust, and launching its planned DEX platform.

If it succeeds, WazirX could serve as a rare example of a crypto company clawing back from a devastating attack with user support intact. If not, the court-approved scheme may become a stopgap rather than a true recovery.

For now, though, the tide seems to be turning. The exchange’s creditors have shown faith in a structured, transparent plan that prioritizes repayment and reform. Whether WazirX can turn that support into a lasting comeback remains to be seen.