Binance Denies Blame in $230M WazirX Hack, Urges User Refund

Binance encouraged the WazirX team to accept responsibility for the attack and reimburse users for whatever money they lost.

About the prominent WazirX hack, Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally, has refuted any responsibility after making false claims regarding its connection to the Indian exchange.

After the $230 million hack, WazirX asserted that because Binance purportedly bought and took control of the WazirX exchange, it might be liable for compensating all of the Indian exchange’s creditors.

On September 17, the company issued an official statement responding to the accusations.

“Their attempts to shift responsibility is a disappointing deflection tactic, but it should not distract anyone from the glaring issue to be addressed here: the need for the WazirX team to be held accountable for user funds lost under their management.”

In the second-biggest cryptocurrency breach of 2024 thus far, an attacker took over $230 million from the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX on July 18.

Binance did not purchase WazirX.

According to the official statement, the first significant error has to do with purchasing the WazirX exchange.

According to the statement made, despite investigating the potential of buying the Indian exchange, the deal never happened.

“Binance never acquired or controlled WazirX. While a contract had been signed between the parties, the proposed transaction never closed due to Zettai’s failure to perform its obligations. The company has never owned, controlled, or operated WazirX at any time, including before, during, or after the alleged hack.”

Binance said that Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, a legally recognized organization formed in India and registered with the Indian authority, is in charge of WazirX.

A clarification of the connections

Following an application filed on August 27 with the Singapore High Court by Zettai Pte Ltd, Binance said to stop WazirX’s creditors from pursuing a class action lawsuit against the company.

Nischal Shetty, the co-founder and CEO of WazirX, is the primary owner of Zettai.

Shetty made “several inaccurate statements about the ongoing dispute between Zettai and Binance,” according to the company. The declaration said:

“Mr. Shetty’s allegations make it clear that he is trying to deflect the blame and claim that Binance may somehow be responsible for the losses suffered by WazirX users and creditors as a result of the cyber-attack. This is false, and any suggestion of the sort is outrageously misleading.”

Furthermore, Binance stated that it is not a party to WazirX’s user agreement and that there is “no legal basis” for it to assert liability for allegations against Zettai.