Supreme Court Rejects User Petition Against WazirX

Crypto regulation is slowly but surely becoming a reality. The US government did a 180-degree turn under President Trump. The European Union also works hard on crypto regulations.  However, there are still plenty of other countries that don’t have clear regulations. India is a sample.

The Indian crypto exchange WazirX was hacked last year. Involved users wanted to get clarity and regulation to help their case. However, the Indian Supreme Court dismissed their public interest petition. So, what’s going on with WazirX and Indian crypto regulations?

WazirX and Indian Crypto Regulation

WazirX is a crypto exchange based in India. It was launched in 2018, and in 2019, Binance bought it. It offers various crypto exchange services. For example, 

• Trading platform.
• Fiat Deposits and Withdrawals.
• Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Trading.

It also offers its own WazirX wallet and its own native utility token, $WRX. This offers, among others, trading discounts. It wants to put India on the crypto world map. However, there’s hardly any crypto regulation in India. Furthermore, there are no laws or guidelines that give clarity on what can or can’t be done.

On the other hand, the Indian government imposes a 30% tax and 1% TDS on crypto gains. That’s pretty harsh. Even more so if you consider that there’s no protection or clarity in the local crypto sector. 

However, in 2024, WazirX was the victim of a hack to the tune of $234 million. 54 WazirX users filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India. They wanted better clarity and regulations to help their case. 

Part of their demands ask for an investigation into the exchange and its related parties. These include the original co-founder, Nischal Shetty, Binance, and custody provider Liminal. The 54 users want accountability for the losses they incurred. They also want to see justice. 

However, the Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine Masih dismissed the case. They said that WazirX should go to the relevant authorities. They argued that the matter falls under policy jurisdiction and not judicial jurisdiction. Because there are no specific laws, they can’t intervene. This sounds like a catch-22 situation. 

Source: X

A tough decision for Indian crypto enthusiasts. They are still left hanging in uncertainty. There’s still no transparency or protection of users’ rights in India’s crypto sector.

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