WazirX users denied justice after $234M hack as Supreme Court bows out
Users are expressing frustration and calling for legal clarity
After the $234 million hack of Indian crypto exchange WazirX in July 2024, users sought legal investigation through the Supreme Court. However, the court dismissed their petition, citing the lack of crypto regulation in the country.
Key Takeaways
- In July 2024, WazirX suffered a massive breach, losing over $234 million worth of crypto assets.
- The exchange, partially owned by Binance, is planning to issue recovery tokens to compensate affected users.
- 56 WazirX users filed a public interest litigation, demanding accountability from the company’s leadership for failing to protect deposited funds.
- On April 16, the Supreme Court refused to proceed with the case, stating that no regulatory framework exists for cryptocurrency.
Users are expressing frustration and calling for legal clarity
Founded in 2018 by Nischal Shetty and partially acquired by Binance in 2019, WazirX had more than 15 million users and offered crypto trading and fiat conversion services. Following the breach, critics argue that the company’s internal security failures contributed to the hack.
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Crypto influencer Pranjal Sharma (Cryptovel) commented on the verdict:
“Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine Masih said: ‘Approach the relevant authorities.’But why? There are no rules, laws, or frameworks for cryptocurrency in India’s legal system.”
Sharma highlighted the contradiction of India imposing a 30% tax and 1% TDS on crypto income, while providing no investor protection or legal recourse.
Price dynamics of the WazirX token since 2019. Source: CoinMarketCap
WazirX's native token was trading around $0.026 at the time of writing — down over 30% since the breach, and just 0.5% of its all-time high of $5.94 in April 2021.
As we wrote, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX will issue Recovery Tokens (RT) to compensate users affected by a major cyberattack in 2024.
