WazirX Resumes Limited Rupee Withdrawals After Major Hack

WazirX to Resume Limited Rupee Withdrawals Following Major Hack

WazirX, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange in India, has announced plans to resume limited withdrawals of Indian rupees after experiencing a significant security breach that resulted in the loss of $230 million in July. The exchange had previously frozen all rupee withdrawals in response to the hack.

Starting from Monday, users will be able to withdraw up to 66% of their rupee balances in a phased manner over the next month. The schedule for these withdrawals is as follows:

• From Aug. 26 to Sept. 8: Users may withdraw up to half of the available limit.
• From Sept. 9 to Sept. 22: The remaining balance will be accessible for withdrawal.

WazirX clarified that the operating entity responsible for its rupee transactions, Zanmai Labs, was not impacted by the cyberattack and possesses sufficient reserves to cover user balances. However, the exchange is required to hold back the remaining 34% of funds due to ongoing investigations by law enforcement agencies. The timeline for the release of these frozen balances remains uncertain.

The exchange expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to users, stating, “While we regret that users have not been able to make withdrawals of cryptocurrency from their account on the platform for some time, it is not possible to simply resume cryptocurrency withdrawals.” They elaborated, “Due to the cyberattack and the subsequent loss of a significant balance of ERC-20 tokens as a result of the theft, there are insufficient token assets available to meet the liabilities arising from the token balances owed to users of the platform.”