Nischal Shetty, the brain behind WazirX, is standing tall and defending the company’s decision to file for a moratorium. He sees it as the fairest route to sort things out for the creditors.
In a recent twist, a Singapore court has given WazirX a four-month breather, granting their request for a temporary pause. But hold your horses, this isn’t a free pass. The court has laid down some ground rules, including crystal-clear transparency about WazirX's wallet addresses and financial records.
This all stems from a jaw-dropping hack back in July that saw the exchange lose a whopping $234 million, impacting nearly half of its customers' funds. As part of the court’s conditions, WazirX has to come clean about all its wallet addresses and get its financial books in order within six weeks. Plus, they need to keep an open line for customer queries during this period. And to top it off, any decisions about the company’s future must be voted on through a neutral platform to keep things fair.
The judge gave WazirX a nod for acting in “good faith” by seeking the moratorium, recognizing their efforts to safeguard creditors while tackling the financial chaos. She also nudged them to think about revealing any non-crypto assets they might have.
WazirX, once a giant in India’s crypto scene by trading volume, initially asked the Singapore High Court for a six-month moratorium to get their ducks in a row. Nischal Shetty, the founder, backed up their quick move to file for the moratorium, saying it was the best path to ensure a swift and fair resolution for creditors, with a chance for them to benefit if the market turns bullish.
Despite these efforts to gain legal protection and work towards a resolution, the odds of customers getting their funds back in crypto are slim, according to the company’s legal team.
Meanwhile, the hacker who pulled off the heist is almost done laundering the stolen loot. The wallet that once held the $234 million haul is now down to just $6 million in Ethereum (ETH). According to blockchain data from Arkham, the hacker has been using Tornado Cash, a privacy service that hides wallet addresses and transactions, to wash the funds. Just in August, over $50 million worth of tokens were funneled through this service, with the hacker ramping up activity in September. The latest big move happened on September 25, when 3,792 ETH, worth about $10 million, was transferred to a new wallet.
