WazirX Tells Creditors to Approve Restructuring Scheme or Wait Till 2030 for Refunds

WazirX is set to present its restructuring scheme to its creditors for voting in the coming weeks, after it was approved by a court in Singapore. The exchange has begun to inform creditors about the possible outcomes of the restructuring process. In a tweet published on Tuesday, WazirX said that if creditors vote against the scheme, they might have to wait until the end of the decade to receive compensation for the $230 million (roughly Rs. 1,900 crore) funds that the crypto exchange lost during the July 2024 hack.

WazirX Outlines Dual Outcomes of Restructuring Scheme

The crypto exchange explained both possible outcomes of the upcoming decision to approve or reject its restructuring scheme. WazirX said that 75 percent of creditors will need to approve the proposal, in order for it to go into effect. However, if the scheme is rejected, then the process of recovering and redistributing funds to creditors might not take place until the end of 2030.

Last month, the exchange said that this compensation scheme for the creditors will introduce the issuance of recovery tokens (RTs) and distribution of recoveries through RT purchase mechanisms. In addition, the exchange plans to strategically reactivate the WazirX platform, featuring new capabilities.

However, it is likely that WazirX users, who lost their funds in the hack, may not get a complete refund. Many creditors have criticised the exchange on social media in recent months.

The exchange said if this scheme is not approved, it will have to start the process of resolving its ownership dispute with Binance. This process could be a time-consuming process, the exchange noted. “Creditors need to wait for ownership dispute to be resolved before any next steps – unclear and potentially extended timelines,” a graphical explanation of the voting outcome posted by WazirX said.

The WazirX-Binance dispute began around 2021, when both parties initially stated that Binance had acquired WazirX. In 2022, however, Binance denied completing the acquisition, while WazirX continued to address Binance as its owner. This ambiguity has persisted for over two years now with no resolution in near sight.

The exchange reiterated that even if it was to be liquidated, the dispute with Binance would persist. “If a liquidation occurs, (the asset distribution) will be significantly delayed, compared to a restructuring, will likely be in fiat, and will likely be materially lower due to liquidation costs and with no improved recovery from profit sharing,” WazirX noted.

WazirX estimates that it could take up to five years — until 2030 — before its creditors might see any compensation, if the scheme is not approved. “Due to the unclear and extended timelines in a liquidation, creditors are likely to miss any near-term bull runs. As fiat is distributed, market price driven upside following distributions in unlikely,” the exchange said.

Its parent entity, Singapore-based Zettai, worked with a financial restructuring firm Kroll to create this scheme. In January, Zettai presented the proposal before the Singapore High Court and secured an approval to extend it to the creditors.A company spokesperson told Gadgets 360 that the exchange plans to start the voting process by the end of February or early March.

The exchange claims that if 75 percent of its creditors were to approve the proposal by April, the court could sanction the deployment of the scheme. After this, the exchange would implement its new business model featuring a decentralised exchange (DEX) and restart the WazirX platform. The platform expects to improve recovery margins for its creditors via ‘profit sharing, recovery of illiquid wallet assets, and white knight collaborations'.

Essentially, the exchange has informed its creditors that if they approve the scheme, they could start their fund recovery process in the next few months, whereas if they disapprove, they could have to wait up till 2030.

For now, Zettai has a court-ordered moratorium of 16-weeks (around four months) to executing the restructuring step-by-step. The moratorium safeguards Zettai and WazirX from legal actions while they are in the process of making the scheme effective.

A multi-sig wallet of WazirX, placed under the oversight of Liminal Custody, was breached for over $230 million (roughly Rs. 1,900 crore) on July 18, 2024. Both Liminal and WazirX have denied the violation of their respective networks that lead to the cyberattack. Creditors who lost their funds have since criticised WazirX for delaying the compensation process.