Mudrex Halts Crypto Withdrawals Till January 28 Amid Efforts to Automate User Verification System

Mudrex is seeking additional KYC details for users initiating crypto withdrawals, and the crypto investment firm has halted crypto withdrawals for the next couple of weeks as part of an ongoing upgrade to its ‘compliance suite'. The platform informed users about pause on withdrawals through via emails over the weekend. The company also posted a blog post about the issue on Sunday. The development stirred concerns amid Mudrex's user base, about the safety of their crypto deposits. The platform, however, has stated that all deposits will be secure during this ongoing process.

Mudrex Says Upgrade Will Automate and Streamlining Verification

This is the first upgrade that Mudrex is processing for its KYC procedure related to crypto withdrawals. Alankar Sexena, Co-founder and CTO at Mudrex had posted about the development on X (formerly Twitter) on January 13. Speaking to Gadgets 360, he said users need not worry about their funds' safety and that their assets are completely safe.

“This particular upgrade is focused on automating and streamlining verification for faster and more reliable withdrawals. We've been working on upgrading our compliance and systems for the past few months,” Saxena said. “However, making these changes could impact users' experience, so we've decided to pause withdrawals until the 28th to ensure everything runs smoothly.”

In his post published on X, Saxena told users that INR withdrawals are not affected by the ongoing process at Mudrex.

In conversation with Gadgets 360, a Mudrex spokesperson claimed that the platorm aims is to ensure that crypto assets are not misused by criminals to move illegal funds around in an untraceable manner. The spokesperson further disclosed that Mudrex is adding requirements like video KYC to maintain a detailed information base for users processing crypto withdrawals on its platform. The official further added that Mudrex has not identified any crucial threat that has prompted it to upgrade its compliance suite, adding that it is a step aimed at improving its user verification system.

Mudrex Users React to Halt on Withdrawals

Cryptocurrencies are not fully regulated in the country, due to a lack of laws to govern the sector. Moreover, incidents like ByBit's recent suspension of crypto trading service — or last year's WazirX wallet hack leading to a loss of around $230 million (roughly Rs. 1,900 crore) — have also added to investor concerns in the country.

Mudrex's step to pause crypto withdrawals to update its compliance suite has come across as ‘odd' and ‘peculiar' to members of India's crypto community. It is notable, that this development came just two days after Mudrex marked its seventh anniversary and announced that its user base has grown by 200 percent to breach the mark of three million as of January.

Addressing the Mudrex situation, many from the crypto circle hhighlighted that such instances only add to the prevailing sentiment of mistrust among crypto investors in India.

Others lauded the platform for being transparent and maintaining the safety of crypto funds during its internal upgrades.

The platform claims that its monthly trading volume has reached $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,732 crore). Founded in 2018 by Edul Patel and Alankar Saxena, Mudrex has offices in India as well as the US.