Bitrabo Editorial
In response to a significant security breach that occurred in July, WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, has announced measures to compensate affected customers. The exchange aims to restore all account balances and undo trades made prior to specific dates in July.
Account Balances Recovery by WazirX
Last month, WazirX experienced a breach resulting in the theft of around $235 million from one of its multisig wallets. Various cryptocurrencies were affected, leaving numerous users without their assets. Following the incident, WazirX stopped operations to recover the stolen funds, offering a portion of the sum as rewards for assisting in the retrieval process.
WazirX has now revealed plans to address customer concerns and provide compensation after the hack. Account balances will be restored to their pre-incident levels following the suspension of withdrawals on July 18, 2024, at 1 PM IST.
Additionally, all trades executed between the withdrawal suspension and the trading cessation on July 21 will be nullified. WazirX assures that these actions were taken after careful evaluation of the situation and feedback from impacted users.
All account balances on WazirX will be reverted to their July 18, 2024, 1 PM IST levels. The restoration process will take place over the next several days, with affected users receiving email notifications about any impacted transactions.
The exchange clarified that only trades conducted after July 18 will be affected by the restoration to ensure fair treatment of all users post-cyberattack irregularities. Ongoing and pending transactions will be canceled automatically during this process, with associated fees and referrals being reimbursed to affected users.
Criticism from the Crypto Community
Reactions from WazirX users regarding the restoration measures have been mixed. While some view the actions positively as a step in the right direction, others have expressed criticism, particularly regarding the decision to nullify trades post-hack.
Concerns have been raised by users who believe that operations should have been paused entirely on the day of the breach, rather than just halting withdrawals, allowing trades to continue for three days before the trading stoppage announcement. Some argue that this approach could impact those users during the restoration process.
Furthermore, delays in resuming operations have sparked discontent among unaffected users who are unable to withdraw their funds, leading to unnecessary complications. WazirX’s decision to maintain the operation pause during the restoration phase has also drawn criticism, with some users perceiving it as keeping funds inaccessible.