Rise of Crypto Giants: Why Failure is Not an Option Innovation in crypto, led by WazirX, opened doors for millions of people, including those from small towns and rural areas, who had never had access to the world of digital assets.

India might have had many success stories with global internet icons of Indian origin, but crypto platforms that can truly stand up and say that they have made an impact, are few. So when one of those companies faces a setback, it jolts the industry. Innovation in crypto for founders in India has been quite rewarding in terms of user reach, ability to reach enthusiastic investors, and make crypto accessible in the country. But the industry is still awaiting concrete regulations and a friendly environment for businesses to grow and thrive.

India's crypto ecosystem was still in its infancy when WazirX launched in 2018. At the time, skepticism around crypto was the predominant sentiment. While the country was working towards embracing technology on a mass scale, the concept of crypto trading platform was a new concept that was welcomed by many Indians. Nischal saw the potential for a platform that could not only bring cryptocurrencies to India but could empower millions of Indians to participate in a global financial revolution.

Innovation in crypto, led by WazirX, opened doors for millions of people, including those from small towns and rural areas, who had never had access to the world of digital assets. But WazirX's biggest test came in 2024, when WazirX faced an unprecedented crisis: a devastating cyberattack by North Korean hackers. On July 18, 2024, the platform's Ethereum wallet was hacked, resulting in a loss of almost $235 million. This was a major setback, not just financially, but to the sentiment of millions of users who had believed in crypto as their gateway to financial freedom.

While WazirX has found its foot back via one of the fastest restructurings in the history of the global crypto ecosystem, and if all goes as planned, the company is set to return funds in a record time of nine months under the legal purview of the High Court of Singapore. This journey has been fraught with difficulties. A huge gap has become prominent which needs to be filled by regulators who understand emerging geopolitical security threats and can extend their helping hands to financial services companies facing the wrath of state backed criminal actors, like the Lazarus Group, which has not only attacked multiple crypto players, but also financial organisations across the globe.

WazirX initiated a recovery plan after the cyber attack, ensuring that the users would be made whole after suffering the financial loss. The strategy involved applying for a moratorium, working out a plan under the Singapore Scheme of Arrangement which will legally mandate distribution of available net liquid assets of the platform, including all profits from token movements. With a voting process designed to get every user's voice heard, the scheme will become effective once majority voters support the Scheme and vote YES.

The voting process is set to start on March 19 and last till March 28, 2025, allowing enough window for all stakeholders to participate. Once the scheme is effective based on users' verdict, 85% funds will get credited to users within 10 business days, which could most likely be in the next 6-8 weeks itself! Apart from that, for the remaining user claims, WazirX will keep giving money back from profits generated through future operations for the next 3 years. This long-term recovery process will help users rebuild their portfolios.

Most projects in India are being developed for the tech/crypto native builders in Web3, which is a great opportunity to grow the ecosystem. But the majority of Indians are still looking at crypto as an investment asset and would continue to prioritise that as opposed to activities like running their own node or staking tokens for security and voting purposes on blockchains. What 'Bharat' wants is different from what one would see as opinions posted by financial experts on X. It is showcased in the trading volume that WazirX used to generate on a daily basis before it was attacked. And these traders have a long way to go before they start interacting with blockchain based entities.

The time has come for the community, the regulators, and all stakeholders to stand together and find a way out of emerging risks which could jeopardize the wealth of a nation's investors at individual levels. With a large user base, Indian investors command a significant impact on sentiment of investors. Crypto, being a global asset in all sense of the definition, stands to face price dips and sell off phases because of such incidents. It's not just one company that gets affected by an event like this. It leads to an erosion of trust for the entire industry. The Indian crypto ecosystem needs to work together to fight for the future of India's place in the global crypto space.

India's regulatory stance on crypto still remains unclear, and needs assurance so that the investors, developers, and crypto enthusiasts believe that India's crypto ecosystem cannot just topple anytime. The first step could be by showing support towards what WazirX has achieved to compensate users and putting in place different rules for crypto companies to undergo security audits, get provisions for insurance claims, and incentives for creating state of the art security protocols in the country for preventing security breaches. It's a battle for the future of India's crypto revolution. And that's a fight that India's crypto industry cannot afford to lose.