WazirX Eyes Mid‑May Comeback

When India’s once‑buoyant trading hub WazirX froze withdrawals in July 2024, 200,000 users watched ₹19 billion ($230 million) vanish through mixers allegedly controlled by North Korean hackers. Nine months later the exchange sits on the brink of resurrection. In an April 21 update, WazirX confirmed that its parent firm Zettai Pte. Ltd. has completed every preparatory chore but one: securing the Singapore High Court’s blessing for its Scheme of Arrangement.

The courtroom clock

The decisive hearing lands on 13 May. Should Justice Aedit Abdullah approve the plan, Zettai says it will push a button: recovered assets disperse and the trading engine hums back to life within ten business days. Chief executive Nischal Shetty insists the team is “battle‑ready,” but concedes the calendar now lies in judicial hands. “If the ruling slips, so does our relaunch,” he told creditors on a Telegram AMA.

Reboot playbook

The scheme—backed by 93 % of eligible creditors—sketches a three‑pronged rescue:

1. Recovery tokens representing up to 80 % of lost balances, redeemable over 24 months.
2. A decentralized exchange (DEX) spin‑out designed to generate buyback revenue.
3. Periodic token burns funded by trading fees to tighten supply and lift market value.

Supporters hail it as a lifeboat superior to outright liquidation. Detractors argue the vote took place under duress: choose the deal or risk zero cents on the dollar. Singapore’s Companies Act allows the court to override dissent if a plan is deemed equitable—and Zettai hopes the overwhelming majority in favour will sway the bench.

Credit where it’s due

Legal observers note that Indian exchanges rarely navigate cross‑border insolvency with this level of creditor engagement. “Most platforms go dark or head straight to bankruptcy court,” says S. Sriram, partner at TechLegis. “WazirX is testing a hybrid: Singapore restructuring plus an India‑centric product relaunch.”

Regulators are watching too. The Reserve Bank of India has used the hiatus to tighten on‑chain forensics and enforce draconian tax reporting. A smooth WazirX comeback could bolster New Delhi’s argument that robust compliance, not blanket bans, safeguards consumers.

From ashes to order books

Assuming the court nod, WazirX intends to reopen spot markets first, followed by futures and staking once liquidity stabilises. Recovery tokens will appear in user dashboards alongside traditional balances. Zettai claims it has plugged security gaps with hardware‑isolated signing and real‑time chain analytics. Whether traders who endured months of lock‑up will trust those measures remains the billion‑rupee question.

Mid‑May now looms as a fork in WazirX’s story: court approval could turn a high‑profile collapse into a textbook recovery, while another delay risks eroding the community’s fragile patience. Either outcome will ripple across India’s 15‑million‑strong crypto demographic and set a precedent for hacker‑struck exchanges everywhere.