30s Summary

Nischal Shetty, founder of major Indian crypto platform WazirX, is considering a decentralized exchange (DEX) after a hack in July 2024 resulted in a $235 million loss. The motives to create a DEX include enhancing control over assets, reducing risk, and introducing a DEX token to cover fees. WazirX previously limited tradable account balance to 55% following the hack. The company has struggled to recover the money, while WazirX and former partner Liminal blame each other for the breach.

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Nischal Shetty, who started the big-time Indian crypto platform WazirX, has said the company is looking to broaden its scope. They’re thinking about creating a decentralized exchange (or DEX), that will run side by side with their existing mainstream service.

Shetty explains that this new direction is due to a big issue they had back in July 2024 when WazirX was hacked. The hackers managed to steal around $235 million from users. By starting a DEX, they hope to remove the risk that comes with traditional, centralized platforms. Shetty promises, “On our new platform, you’ll have total control over your assets and you can trade them or do whatever you want with them as you please.”

Additionally, the WazirX boss is thinking about introducing a new DEX token. Users will be able to use this to cover fees on the platform. This will also give the users a say in running the platform.

Back in July, WazirX was targeted by a group of hackers who managed to break into their multi-signature wallet. It’s believed these hackers were part of the North Korean Lazarus Group. They managed to get away with the $235 million through Tornado Cash – a protocol that hides transaction history and makes it difficult to track.

After the hack, WazirX came up with a plan to limit the amount of a user’s account balance that could be traded to just 55%, with the remaining 45% being converted to USDT (Tether-USD) – a type of cryptocurrency. This 45% would then stay locked on the platform. This plan caused a stir with the platform’s users, who felt it was unfair.

In August 2024, the platform also decided to reverse all post-hack trades and reset all account balances back to what they were before the July 18 attack. At the time, they said doing this was fair for all customers. WazirX had a rough time trying to get back the stolen money after the hack as the main platform and its former custody partner, Liminal, were both blaming each other for the security breach and loss of money.