After being offline for over a year, India’s once-leading crypto exchange, WazirX, is finally reopening on 24 October.
The relaunch follows the approval of a court-sanctioned restructuring plan in Singapore, offering users renewed access to their frozen funds and introducing zero transaction fees at launch.
This marks an important milestone for India’s crypto industry, which has faced ongoing regulatory uncertainty and a decline in trading activity since the exchange’s closure.
The exchange’s revival has drawn significant attention, particularly because WazirX was one of India’s most widely used platforms before the hack in July 2024.
Now, as the team prepares to resume operations, WazirX is attempting to rebuild credibility and strengthen its security framework to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The Exchange Returns with New Measures and User Compensation
WazirX’s official communication channels, including its Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts, confirmed that the platform will reopen with zero trading fees.
ounder Nischal Shetty stated that the team is working quickly to restore operations and that users can expect trading to resume with the USDT/INR pair and selected crypto markets as part of an initial phase.
The zero-fee approach is designed to encourage trading activity and reward users who remained patient throughout the exchange’s prolonged shutdown.
A crucial part of this reopening strategy is the launch of Recovery Tokens (RTs). These tokens will be distributed to users who held assets on the platform before the hack. Each Recovery Token will represent a pro-rata share of the exchange’s future revenue, recovered funds, and potential profits.
In practice, this means that affected users will not only receive compensation but could also benefit from the exchange’s long-term performance. The initiative seeks to align user interests with WazirX’s recovery and create a transparent mechanism for repayment.
Security remains central to the new structure. WazirX has partnered with BitGo, a United States–based digital asset custodian known for managing institutional-grade fund storage.
This collaboration introduces third-party oversight and enhanced custody protection, addressing one of the major concerns raised after the 2024 hack. The partnership signals WazirX’s intent to rebuild user trust through independent verification and robust fund management systems.
Community reaction to the reopening has been mixed but generally optimistic. Many users have expressed relief that their funds will finally be recoverable, while others remain cautious about re-engaging after such a large-scale incident.
Analysts suggest that this measured reopening, combined with transparent reporting and independent custody, could serve as a model for other exchanges facing similar crises.
From a broader perspective, WazirX’s return could also impact India’s digital asset landscape. With increasing interest in regulated crypto operations, the exchange’s comeback may invite closer scrutiny from both Indian and Singaporean authorities.
It might also push competing platforms to adopt stronger security and compliance frameworks to maintain credibility with users and regulators alike.
Why WazirX Closed
WazirX’s troubles began in July 2024, when a massive $240 million hack crippled the exchange and forced it to suspend operations.
The cyberattack not only froze user accounts but also caused a liquidity shortfall, leaving around 6.6 million users unable to withdraw their funds. The incident severely damaged public trust and exposed vulnerabilities in WazirX’s internal systems.
In response, the company shifted its legal restructuring to Singapore, where its parent entity is registered.
The move aimed to facilitate smoother creditor negotiations and a more favourable legal environment for corporate recovery. However, WazirX’s first restructuring proposal, submitted in June 2025, was rejected due to procedural issues and insufficient creditor participation.
A revised plan later gained widespread support, with more than 95% of creditors voting in favour. The updated scheme was subsequently approved by the High Court of Singapore and filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in October 2025.
This approval effectively cleared the final barrier for WazirX to relaunch operations and distribute funds back to affected users.
Under the approved plan, users will regain access to their frozen assets through a phased process combining crypto, cash distributions, and Recovery Tokens.
This phased approach is intended to reduce liquidity stress and ensure the exchange can manage withdrawals without triggering instability.
Importantly, the Recovery Tokens will act as a financial bridge between users and the company’s recovery performance, aligning user compensation with future growth.
In addition to asset recovery, WazirX has significantly overhauled its internal operations. The exchange’s collaboration with BitGo introduces new fund management protocols, including segregated cold wallets and multi-signature verification systems to prevent unauthorised access.
The company also emphasised compliance and transparency as central to its renewed operating model.
Founder Nischal Shetty expressed confidence that the relaunch would mark a new beginning for WazirX and the broader crypto community in India.
He stated that the team is working diligently to ensure the reopening is seamless and that lessons from the 2024 hack have shaped a stronger, more accountable framework for the future.
The exchange’s downfall also coincided with growing tension between Indian regulators and crypto businesses.
The lack of a clear regulatory framework for exchanges operating in India has been an ongoing concern, forcing many companies to register entities abroad.
WazirX’s decision to structure its recovery through Singapore reflects the complexities of operating in a jurisdiction still defining its stance on digital assets.
Despite these challenges, the restructuring represents a significant achievement. It demonstrates how coordination between users, creditors, and international regulators can enable a distressed exchange to recover from a catastrophic event.
It also sets a precedent for how transparency and external oversight can play a role in stabilising crypto institutions.
As WazirX prepares to reopen, comparisons have been drawn to other exchange recoveries, such as Mt. Gox, where years of legal proceedings eventually led to partial fund distribution.
WazirX’s approach, by contrast, relies on a faster, more user-centric model that directly involves tokenised repayment. If successful, this could become a blueprint for handling future crises in the crypto sector.
Conclusion
The reopening of WazirX marks more than a simple return to trading; it represents a renewed commitment to user trust and accountability.
By eliminating trading fees and offering a transparent recovery mechanism through Recovery Tokens, the exchange is attempting to rebuild credibility after one of the most severe incidents in India’s crypto history.
Partnerships with reputable custodians such as BitGo and the backing of a court-approved restructuring plan suggest that WazirX has learned from its past mistakes. Its focus on transparency, external oversight, and phased liquidity management offers a promising path forward.