CoinSwitch co-founder and CEO Ashish Singhal has accused Indian crypto exchange WazirX of transferring nearly $73.63 million in user assets to global exchanges Bybit and KuCoin following a significant cyber attack in July.
In a post on X on 21 October 2024, Singhal claimed that WazirX moved approximately $72.13 million to Bybit and $1.5 million to KuCoin in the wake of the hack, which left many users’ funds compromised.
He added that CoinSwitch is taking legal action against WazirX to recover frozen funds linked to the hack. “We are pursuing legal action to recover our funds, and it’s crucial that we understand the full extent of the information WazirX has shared,” Singhal said.
EXPLORE: How to Buy Bitcoin in India
CoinSwitch Sues WazirX After Freezing Assets
The legal battle between the two crypto platforms comes after WazirX froze CoinSwitch’s funds following the Rs 2,000-crore ($250 million) cyber attack.
The 18 July 2024 hack, which targeted WazirX’s multisig wallet, resulted in the loss of 45% of users’ assets. The exchange subsequently suspended withdrawals while working on a restructuring plan that needed approval from creditors and Singapore’s High Court.
WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty and financial advisors have since indicated that users may only recover up to 57% of their assets, with losses estimated at around Rs 850 crore ($102 million).
Making sense of WazirX’s wallet disclosure for users
Crypto exchange WazirX — which allegedly faced a cyberattack in July 2024 — has released over 240,000 wallet addresses as part of an affidavit they filed in the High Court of Singapore.
These many wallet addresses can be… pic.twitter.com/QfaEmuQXUZ
— Ashish Singhal (@ashish343) October 21, 2024
In September, WazirX secured a four-month moratorium from the Singapore court, allowing the company to restructure its operations without the burden of ongoing legal cases.
As part of the restructuring process, WazirX has disclosed over 240,000 wallet addresses linked to the hacked assets.
CoinSwitch has created a tracking dashboard for users to monitor funds associated with these wallets and has initiated a lawsuit to reclaim 2% of its frozen assets following the hack.
“Think of this dashboard as just one piece of a complex puzzle that we are also trying to figure out. With ongoing legal proceedings, there are limitations to what we can share. However, we will try our best to share our understanding with the crypto community within those limits.”
EXPLORE: India May Grant Clearance to Two More Offshore Crypto Exchanges for Operations
WazirX Cancels All Open Orders
In August, WazirX canceled all open orders and returned users’ INR and crypto assets held for these trades. The decision came amid ongoing efforts to address issues related to INR and crypto balances on the platform after the security breach.
India’s stance on cryptocurrencies has been somewhat ambiguous. The imposition of strict crypto taxes in 2022 and the crypto market downturn led Indian traders to switch to international exchanges, negatively impacting the local crypto industry.
As reported, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has upheld the controversial crypto tax regulations during the announcement of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.
Despite extensive lobbying from the cryptocurrency industry, which presented substantial evidence to advocate for a reduction in the tax-deducted-at-source (TDS) policy from 1% to 0.01%, the existing rules remain unchanged.
EXPLORE: Buying Bitcoin with PayPal (Beginner’s Guide)
Why you can trust 99Bitcoins
Established in 2013, 99Bitcoin’s team members have been crypto experts since Bitcoin’s Early days.
Weekly Research
100k+Monthly readers
Expert contributors
2000+Crypto Projects Reviewed
Free Bitcoin Crash Course
- Enjoyed by over 100,000 students.
- One email a day, 7 days in a row.
- Short and educational, guaranteed!
Maximize Your Trading With Margex’s 20% Deposit Bonus
Hottest Meme Coins to Buy in April? Retail Target Latest Crypto For Mega Gains
AR.IO Brings The Permanent Cloud to AI Storage Crisis
10 Best Crypto Bonuses in 2025 – Top Exchange Offers & Promotions
4 Days Left For Early Investors in World’s First Meme Coin Index: Meme Coin Mcap Hits $56Bn
