Athira Sethu
Kochi, 7 December 2024
WazirX, one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in India, faced a major cyber attack in July. This attack made off with $235 million of investor funds; in all, it had reached 15 million users. That is close to half the platform’s reserves. Following this, WazirX froze the remaining funds and suspended trading on its platform.
It has left many investors in a turmoil. Many, who had invested anywhere between ₹30,000 to ₹1.5 crore, have stories of hardships and pain. Some are now under debt, while others go through emotional torture and suicidal thoughts.
The stolen money has appreciated to an estimated $330 million, courtesy of the surging cryptocurrency prices. A blockchain analysis revealed that the majority of the stolen funds were laundered through the decentralized platform known as TornadoCash. Only Ether worth $6 million was traceable.
WazirX has decided to pay back 52% of investor claims through its liquid assets, which stand at $577 million. The rest of the 48% is supposed to be repaid by future profits and funds recovered. However, the investors are not pleased with the cut-off date announced by the company as July 18 to make claims. They have been claiming that the value of their crypto holdings has significantly gone up since then.
Legal investigations are going on; however, the process has been very slow due to a lack of clear regulations in India concerning cryptocurrencies. Even though there is a tax on trading in cryptocurrencies, it is not an official investment class. Many investors and experts are crying out for more transparency and accountability from WazirX, which would prevent such incidents in the future.
The case has left millions of users demanding answers and justice in the wake of this crypto-heist that is one of the largest in history.
