Victims of hacked Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX could soon begin recovering their funds, as the platform’s proposed restructuring plan nears a final court decision in Singapore.
WazirX was hacked in July 2024, when attackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group exploited a Safe Multisig wallet and made off with over $234 million worth of crypto assets.
The incident marked one of the largest crypto-related heists globally, and the biggest ever in India.
The stolen funds accounted for around 45% of WazirX’s total customer holdings, forcing the exchange to suspend all crypto and fiat withdrawals and leaving thousands of users unable to access their assets.
In the months since, WazirX has been pushing for a court-supervised recovery plan through its Singapore-based parent company, Zettai PTE Ltd.
According to an April 21 update, the company said it had “completed all prior required steps” and is now waiting for the Singapore High Court’s final verdict, scheduled for May 13.
If approved, the first round of fund distributions and platform relaunch could begin within 10 business days.
“We understand the eagerness around the platform restart and truly appreciate your continued patience. Since the beginning, we have communicated that the First Distribution and restart would occur within the April–May 2025 window,” WazirX said.
However, the exchange has stressed that the exact timeline would ultimately depend on the outcome of the court hearing, which operates independently.
“We respect that process,” it added.
When will WazirX release funds?
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If the court clears the proposal, WazirX plans to restart trading in phases.
WazriX’s relaunch is also tied directly to the rollout of “recovery tokens” that the exchange plans to issue to affected users.
These tokens, distributed on a pro rata basis, will act as placeholders for lost funds.
Users can trade them on the platform or hold them as WazirX commits a portion of its future revenue toward buying them back.
The exchange estimates these tokens could help users recover around 75% to 80% of their balances over time, with full recovery potentially taking up to 36 months.
To fund this, WazirX is lining up new revenue-generating features as part of its relaunch.
These include crypto staking, an over-the-counter trading desk, and a futures trading platform, all expected to go live alongside regular spot trading.
A slice of the fees from these services will be routed to the recovery pool to support the token buybacks.
The company is also building a decentralised exchange to give users more control and self-custody options.
This upcoming DEX will include its own native governance token and reward system, with additional liquidity and community incentives.
Users will reportedly be able to swap their recovery tokens for DEX tokens as another measure toward recouping losses.
As previously covered on Invezz, WazirX was also exploring partnerships with external backers and “white knight” investors who could help inject fresh capital into the business alongside ongoing efforts to recover stolen assets and support its long-term restructuring plan.
