Binance Responds to Dispute with WazirX Parent Company Zanmai: Denies Acquisition and Responsibility

Background

On July 18, 2024, on-chain monitoring agencies detected unusual transfers from the wallet of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX. It was confirmed that the exchange had been hacked. SlowMist founder Cos stated that the breach occurred due to the compromise of a multi-signature ETH hot wallet address.

For more details, see the previous report here: https://www.wikibit.com/en/202407192024959118.html

Dispute over Responsibility

WazirX and Liminal Custody, the custodians of the stolen funds, have been blaming each other for the incident. The compromised wallet was a multi-signature wallet with five signers from the WazirX team and one from Liminal, a third-party custodial service provider hired by WazirX.

WazirX stated that the attack was related to the multi-signature wallet associated with Liminal‘s digital asset custody service, citing “discrepancies between the data displayed on Liminal’s interface and the actual transactions.”

Liminal, on the other hand, claimed that its infrastructure had not been breached and that all wallets, including WazirXs, remained secure. A multi-signature wallet requires multiple signatures to authorize transactions.

Binance Denies Responsibility

In a blog post, Binance stated that the Zanmai-operated WazirX platform reported a cyberattack on July 18, 2024, resulting in user fund losses of approximately $235 million, and WazirX has been unable to fulfill withdrawal requests. Binance also pointed out that Zettais primary owner, Nischal Shetty, made some inaccurate statements regarding the ongoing dispute between Zettai and Binance. Shetty suggested that Binance might somehow be responsible for the losses suffered by WazirX users and creditors as a result of the cyberattack. Binance refuted these claims, stating that any such assertions are highly misleading.

Binance clarified that it never acquired WazirX, despite signing an agreement, because Zettai failed to meet its obligations, and the proposed transaction was never completed. Binance emphasized that it has never owned, controlled, or operated WazirX at any time, including before, during, or after the alleged hack.

Shetty claimed that the current dispute between Zettai and Binance might lead to Binance owning WazirX, which would, in turn, make Zettai‘s creditors Binance’s creditors, meaning Binance would be responsible for WazirX users. In response, Binance rejected this notion, stating that it does not own or operate WazirX, is not a party to WazirX‘s agreements with its users, holds no WazirX user funds, and bears no responsibility for the consequences of the cyberattack. Shetty’s statements were deemed inaccurate and misleading.

In 2019, Binance announced the acquisition of WazirX, but in 2022, Binances founder denied this, stating that the deal was never completed.

What did Binance clarify in its dispute with WazirXs parent company, Zanmai, regarding the July 2024 cyberattack？

A) Binance claimed full responsibility for the losses.

B) Binance denied ever acquiring WazirX and denied responsibility for the attack.

C) Binance admitted partial ownership of WazirX but refused to compensate users.

D) Binance promised to reimburse WazirX users for their lost funds.