Singapore Court Grants WazirX a Four-Month Moratorium

Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has been granted a four-month moratorium almost three months after its $235 million hack.

A moratorium application is a legal request to temporarily halt legal actions or financial obligations, giving the company time to restructure or resolve financial issues.

As part of the deal, WazirX must disclose its wallet addresses via court affidavit and must respond to user queries. Additionally, it must also reveal its financial accounts within six weeks and ensure that future resolution voting occurs on an independent platform.

"During a cyber attack, there was a discrepancy between the information shown on Liminal's interface and the actual signed transaction, leading to suspicions that the transaction payload was altered to transfer wallet control to an attacker," the team said in July.

WazirX went on to socialize the loss by allowing users to have access to 55% of their assets with the remaining 45% locked in Tether. The exchange said it had "taken guidance" from other crypto exchanges including "Mt. Gox and Bitfinex, which faced similar challenges."

"As of 2024, [Mt. Gox] creditors have started receiving partial repayments, with the total expected to be around 20% of the original holdings. This case demonstrates the complexities and potential lengthy timelines involved in resolving large-scale crypto losses," WazirX said about Mt. Gox.

The judge in Singapore asked WazirX to "think about" revealing assets beyond its tokens and recognised that the exchange acted in "good faith" by seeking the moratorium.

WazirX founder Nischal Shetty said in a statement, "Our immediate filing for the moratorium was a decisive step taken to ensure the fastest, fairest, creditor-approved, legally binding path to resolution where creditors have a token choice and potential upside in a bull run."

“WazirX will continue to provide updates on our progress and further developments. We are steadfast in our commitment to resolve this matter efficiently and equitably."

The exchange approached the Singapore High Court with a moratorium earlier this month.

WazirX's parent company, Zettai, said at the time that a moratorium would provide "breathing space" for WazirX to restructure its operations.