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WazirX
WazirX is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange founded in March 2018 that offers spot and derivatives trading for digital assets.[9] As of February 2024, the company reported having over 15 million users in India.[1] The exchange is known for its peer-to-peer (P2P) system introduced after the Reserve Bank of India's April 2018 circular restricting banking services to crypto businesses and for a July 2024 security breach that led to a court-supervised restructuring.[10][11][2][3]
History
Early Operations
WazirX began operations in early 2018. In April 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular directing regulated entities to stop providing services to virtual currency businesses within three months.[10]
In response to these banking restrictions, WazirX developed a peer-to-peer (P2P) trading system in which the exchange acted as an escrow: sellers first deposited crypto assets with WazirX, and buyers transferred rupees directly to sellers' bank accounts; once payment was confirmed, the crypto was released to the buyer.[12] This structure allowed users to continue converting between rupees and crypto without the exchange itself holding customer fiat balances.[13]
2024 Security Breach
On July 18, 2024, WazirX experienced a major security breach that became one of the largest crypto heists in India's history.[14] The attack was attributed by cybersecurity firms and media reports to the Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored North Korean hacking collective.[11][15] Attackers compromised a multisignature wallet set up through third-party custody provider Liminal and drained funds from this wallet, leading to losses exceeding $230 million in digital assets.[11][2][3]
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, WazirX was forced to halt all platform operations, including trading and withdrawals, to prevent further losses and conduct a thorough investigation.[14] The incident led to a public dispute between WazirX and its custody provider, Liminal, with each party assigning responsibility to the other for the failures that enabled the breach.[4]
The stolen funds were moved through privacy-focused services, including Tornado Cash, which complicated tracing and recovery efforts.[2] The hack significantly impacted the exchange's users, whose funds were frozen, and reduced public confidence in the security of centralized crypto platforms in the region.[4]
Restructuring and Relaunch
Following the devastating hack, WazirX's Singapore-based parent company, Zettai Pte. Ltd., initiated a comprehensive restructuring process to manage its financial liabilities and chart a path toward recovery. After an initial rejection of its proposed plan, the company presented a revised scheme that gained overwhelming support from its creditors.
In an August 2025 re-vote, 95.7% of creditors by number and 94.6% by value approved the plan.[2]
In a significant milestone, the High Court of Singapore officially sanctioned the restructuring scheme in October 2025. The court's approval provided a legal framework for the company to compensate hack victims and formally resume its operations. The plan includes issuing on-chain Recovery Tokens to users to represent their remaining claims, with periodic buybacks funded from platform profits and asset recoveries; under the approved scheme, these tokens are not listed for trading on the exchange.[2][5][8] As part of the strategic overhaul, Zettai relocated its operations from Singapore to Panama, rebranding under the name Zensui Corporation.[5]
To bolster security and rebuild user trust, WazirX announced a partnership with BitGo, a U.S.-based digital asset custodian, ahead of its relaunch. Following the Singapore High Court's approval of its restructuring plan, WazirX officially resumed all services on October 24, 2025, including deposits, withdrawals, trading, and P2P transactions. To mark the reopening, the exchange offered zero-fee trading for the first 30 days and began gradually reintroducing trading pairs with the rupee, starting with Tether (USDT). The company also stated its intention to launch a decentralized exchange (DEX) as part of its long-term strategy to enhance user control over assets.[2][3][7]
Following the reopening, WazirX reported that by late October 2025 roughly 85% of approved user claims, calculated at reference-date values, had been distributed, while about 34% of rupee balances remained frozen in bank accounts as part of an ongoing legal process. The company stated that phased releases had begun for some smaller-balance users but did not provide a confirmed timeline for fully unfreezing the remaining funds. Recovery Tokens representing users’ outstanding claims were credited to eligible accounts on January 9, 2026; these tokens are described as non-tradable, are not listed for secondary trading, and are reviewed each quarter for potential buybacks, conditional on the scheme generating at least $10 million in unencumbered value during a review period.[8]
Features
WazirX operates an online platform and mobile applications that support spot and derivatives trading in a range of digital assets.[1] As of mid-2026, the exchange listed hundreds of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs across its markets.[18]
Key features of the platform include:
- QuickBuy: A feature that allows for the instant purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies at quoted prices through a simplified interface.[1]
- Advanced Trading Tools: The exchange provides charting tools, order books, and profit-and-loss (P&L) tracking to monitor positions and market activity.[1]
- WazirX Token (WRX): WazirX has a native utility token, WRX, with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens.[19][20] According to the project’s allocation plan, WRX was distributed across categories such as the WazirX foundation, ecosystem fund, marketing and community development, private sale, Binance Launchpad sale, and airdrops and trade-mining rewards.[21][19] Within the ecosystem, WRX can be used for trading-fee discounts, participation in certain token listings and promotions, and payment of specific platform fees.[19]
- Security: WazirX supports security measures such as two-factor authentication (2FA) and other controls intended to protect user accounts and data.[1]
- API Integration: The platform offers API endpoints that allow users and developers to implement automated or high-frequency trading strategies.[1]
- WazirX ZERO: WazirX ZERO is a subscription plan under which spot trading fees on the exchange are set to zero in exchange for a monthly charge of ₹99 plus applicable taxes; the plan does not alter the statutory 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on virtual digital asset trades under Indian law.[22]
- WazirX Futures: WazirX Futures offers perpetual futures contracts settled in Indian rupees, with base maker and taker fees of 0.02% and 0.04%, respectively.[23][24] Under Indian tax rules, these futures trades are not subject to the 1% TDS that applies to spot trading in virtual digital assets.[25]
- WazirX AI: On August 24, 2026, the exchange launched WazirX AI, a free research and trading-assistance tool paired with a paper-trading sandbox; the system suggests potential trades based on user-selected parameters but does not execute orders without explicit user approval.[8]
Business Model and Fees
WazirX’s business model is primarily based on charging trading fees on its spot and derivatives markets, along with certain ancillary charges. On spot markets, the exchange applies maker and taker fees to each trade, with specific rates and any promotional discounts set out in its fee schedule.[26] Users who subscribe to the WazirX ZERO plan instead pay a fixed monthly subscription fee of ₹99 plus taxes while incurring zero exchange trading fees on eligible spot pairs.[22]
For derivatives, WazirX Futures generates revenue through maker and taker fees on perpetual futures contracts, with base rates of 0.02% for maker orders and 0.04% for taker orders before any discounts or tiered adjustments.[24] The platform also charges withdrawal fees for moving crypto assets off the exchange and may charge network-related or service fees for certain types of deposits and transfers, as detailed in its fee documentation.[26]
Controversies
In addition to the 2024 security breach, WazirX has faced other challenges and controversies throughout its history.
- 2024 Hack: The theft of over $230 million by the Lazarus Group in July 2024 remains the most significant controversy, leading to a temporary shutdown and a complex corporate restructuring.[2][11]
- Enforcement Directorate Notice (2021): In 2021, India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show-cause notice to WazirX and its directors under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) concerning alleged violations involving cryptocurrency transactions worth approximately ₹2,790.74 crore.[27][28][29]
- Ownership Dispute with Binance (2022): A public dispute over the ownership of WazirX erupted in 2022 between its founder, Nischal Shetty, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. While Binance had announced an acquisition of WazirX in 2019, Zhao later stated that Binance had not completed an equity acquisition of Zanmai Labs and that WazirX was operated by the Indian entity, leading to uncertainty about the exchange's operational control and ownership structure.[16][17]
Regulatory and Compliance
WazirX operates in India’s evolving regulatory environment for virtual digital asset service providers. The exchange has stated that it is registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) as a reporting entity and that it implements know-your-customer (KYC) and anti–money laundering (AML) procedures in line with local requirements.[1]
In June 2021, the Enforcement Directorate issued a show-cause notice to WazirX and its directors under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), alleging that the platform had facilitated cryptocurrency transactions worth about ₹2,790.74 crore between Indian and overseas users in violation of foreign-exchange rules.[27][28][29] Subsequent investigations and public statements also examined the relationship between WazirX’s Indian operating entity and Binance entities that provided wallet infrastructure, with regulators focusing on how cross-border flows were recorded under Indian foreign-exchange rules.[17][16]
Founding and Ownership
WazirX was founded in March 2018 by Nischal Shetty, Sameer Mhatre, and Siddharth Menon, who had previously worked together on other technology ventures.[9] The exchange was initially developed and operated by Zanmai Labs Private Limited, an Indian company associated with the founding team.[16]
In November 2019, global exchange Binance announced an agreement to acquire WazirX, describing the deal as a way to provide a fiat-to-crypto gateway for the Indian market.[16] Following enforcement actions against WazirX in India in 2021 and 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated in 2022 that Binance had never completed an equity acquisition of Zanmai Labs and that Binance only provided certain wallet and infrastructure services to WazirX under contractual arrangements.[16]
Media and regulatory reports since 2022 have generally described WazirX as being operated by Zanmai Labs (and later related entities such as Zettai Pte. Ltd.), while Binance is reported to have had control over some key wallet infrastructure and a share of trading-fee revenues under earlier commercial agreements.[17][2] Following the 2024 hack and subsequent restructuring, WazirX’s international operations were placed under Zettai Pte. Ltd., later renamed Zensui Corporation, while day-to-day exchange activities for Indian users continued to be associated with entities linked to the original founders.[5][2]
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