qerranews 
In a major development for the embattled crypto exchange WazirX, over 93% of its creditors have approved a comprehensive Scheme of Arrangement aimed at recovering assets lost during a devastating $230 million hack in July 2024. The creditor backing marks a critical step toward financial restitution and operational recovery for one of the most significant crypto breaches in recent history.
The approval was reached after a 10-day voting period from March 19 to March 28, hosted on the Kroll Issuer Services platform. Over 141,000 creditors, representing $195.65 million in validated claims, participated in the vote. Among them, 131,659 creditors—holding $184.99 million in claims—voted in favor, securing 93.1% approval by count and 94.6% by value. These figures comfortably surpassed the thresholds set by Singapore’s Companies Act, which required a majority by count and at least 75% by value for the scheme to be considered valid.
This strong show of support staves off the alternative route of liquidation under Singapore law, a scenario that WazirX warned would have pushed the final settlement timeline all the way to 2030 and likely resulted in significantly lower recoveries for affected users. The restructuring scheme was proposed by Zettai, the Singapore-based parent company of WazirX.
The next step involves securing formal approval—or “sanction”—from the Singapore Court. If granted, the Scheme of Arrangement will kick off with an initial payout to creditors within 10 business days. This will be followed by a phased resumption of both withdrawals and trading activities on the platform, subject to regulatory compliance and technical readiness.
Beyond just restitution, WazirX’s recovery blueprint includes forward-thinking initiatives aimed at rebuilding trust and creating new avenues of value. Central to this is the planned launch of a decentralized exchange (DEX), a strategic pivot that aligns with growing industry preference for non-custodial solutions. Additionally, WazirX will issue “recovery tokens,” which can be traded or held by affected users. The exchange has pledged to conduct periodic buybacks of these tokens using platform profits and future revenue streams, helping to gradually restore value to those impacted.
The July 2024 hack was attributed to the notorious Lazarus Group, a state-linked North Korean cybercrime syndicate. The attackers allegedly exploited a private key vulnerability, siphoning off $230 million worth of assets and laundering them through Tornado Cash to obscure their tracks. While WazirX blamed its custody provider, Liminal, for the breach, Liminal refuted the claim, citing weaknesses in WazirX’s own security infrastructure.
Despite limited success in recovering the stolen funds, this restructuring marks a crucial milestone for WazirX and its users. It offers not just financial relief, but also a roadmap for how crypto platforms can respond to catastrophic breaches while attempting to preserve value and user confidence.
As the crypto industry watches closely, WazirX’s ability to deliver on its promises in the coming months will be key to rebuilding its reputation and setting a precedent for post-hack recovery in the digital asset world.