- Based on Singapore court approval, WazirX may relaunch in May.
- Tokens are part of a $234M hack recovery plan, under which refunds will be made within 36 months at the earliest.
- Legal clearance will hinge on the May 13 hearing, as the creditor backing is above 90%.
The Singapore High Court will decide whether crypto exchange platform WazirX will resume operations as early as next month. The platform, which has been dark for nearly nine months, just needs the green light from the law in its restructuring proposal before its Campbell Said segments can be reactivated to recover, or at least compensate, the users and peripheries.
In an update via social media platform X on April 21, WazirX confirmed that if the High Court in Singapore approves its restructuring scheme, the crypto exchange can resume the trading and withdrawal services of the WazirX wallet. WazirX’s parent company, Zettai PTE Ltd, has proposed the company’s road map to recover from the $234 million hack the company was hit by in July 2024. A sanction hearing is scheduled for the court on May 13. Zettai said that if the plan is approved, it would launch phases of restarting core operations within 10 business days.
“This hearing is essential for the Scheme to become legally effective,” the company stated, adding that it had “completed all prior required steps.” WazirX reiterated that it remains on course to resume services within the previously outlined April–May 2025 timeframe.
WazirX Turned to Courts for Help
The July 2024 attack was carried out by Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea, and halted withdrawals for all crypto and fiat. According to reports, the attackers exploited vulnerabilities in the Safe Multisig wallet and drained the funds, prompting the platform to seek judicial aid to compensate the victims and relaunch.
The planned restructuring also entails distributing recovery tokens to affected users. The revenue generated from the platform’s operations would be used to gradually redeem these tokens. Zettai projects that the tokens could pay between 75 and 80 percent of user account balances at the time of the hack. However, full payment could take up to 36 months and depends on the exchange’s financial performance.
User criticism of the scheme, as first mooted by WazirX in February, was swift. Cleared for launch last Thursday, the sale drew complaints from many about the repayment structure, which is tied to the fate of a new fabled decentralized exchange platform. Some dubbed the plan unfair, particularly after WazirX said rejection could hold up compensation by a minimum of five years.
Creditor Support Surged in March Voting Window
However, though there was early backlash, momentum switched in March when more than 90 percent of the exchange’s creditors agreed with the plan. More than $195 million in approved claims backing the proposal were voted on and spanned ten days on the Kroll Issuer Services platform.
Legal challenges elsewhere saw some progress in the restructuring plan. Among them were 54 users who tried to file a case against WazirX in the Supreme Court in India. On April 16, however, the court dismissed the case as it was not the proper venue to discuss things about cryptocurrency, as per the ruling.
With the final legal hurdle in Singapore set to be decided in the hearing on May 13, WazirX’s road to redemption will eventually clear the path to return to the users whose assets and exchange are yet to return and its full function.
