Binance addresses WazirX and Zettai allegations regarding July hack

• Team WazirX and Nischal Shetty continue to mislead customers about a $230 million hack in July, according to Binance.
• On Tuesday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance addressed “inaccurate and misleading statements” from Zettai and WazirX regarding Binance.
• Binance stated that the security and preservation of user assets are critical tasks for any cryptocurrency platform.

Binance responded to the allegations from WazirX and Zettai by releasing a blog post on Tuesday clarifying how its ongoing dispute with WazirX impacts the recovery of more than $230 million in user funds that were lost during cyber attack in July, stressing that protecting user assets is a fundamental responsibility of any cryptocurrency platform.

Chronology of events

The Zanmai-led WazirX platform reported that it suffered a cyberattack on July 18, 2024, which resulted in the loss of over $230 million in user funds. The attackers compromised their multisig wallet on the Ethereum network and quickly stole several tokens.

On 27 August 2024, Zettai Pte Ltd, a legal entity incorporated in Singapore, applied to the High Court of Singapore for a moratorium to prevent creditors (i.e. customers of WazirX) from taking collective action against it.

The application was filed on August 27 in the High Court of Singapore for a moratorium under Section 64 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Winding Up Act 2018 to facilitate its intention to restructure its obligations under an arrangement.

On September 6, miner WazirX also deposited 7,200 ETH worth $17.3 million to Tornado Cash from the $230 million in user assets stolen from the Indian crypto exchange.

Binance defends itself against WazirX allegations after cyber attack

On Tuesday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance responded to allegations from WazirX and Zettai with a blog post about how its dispute with WazirX affected user funds lost during the July cyber attack.

“In his affidavits, Mr. Shetty made several inaccurate statements about the ongoing dispute between Zettai and Binance. Mr. Shetty’s allegations clearly show that he is trying to deflect blame and claims that Binance could somehow be responsible for the losses suffered by WazirX users and lenders as a result of the cyber attack. This is false and any such suggestion is outrageously misleading.” Binance said in a blog post.

Binance continued its statement: “Binance does not and has never provided cryptocurrency-related services to WazirX users as described in the WazirX User Agreement. As I said before, Binance previously provided Zanmai wallet services as a technology solution for their WazirX exchange operations, as we do for many other third parties. Binance has never operated WazirX.”

Binance concluded by saying, “In light of the ongoing misinformation propagated by Zettai and Mr. Shetty, it is critical for WazirX users and the market at large to understand that Binance never owned, controlled or operated WazirX at any time, including during the Alleged Hack from July 2024. Binance assumes no responsibility for the operation of the WazirX platform or the consequences of the attack.”