Indian crypto exchange WazirX announced that all user balances would be restored to what they were on July 18, 1 PM IST, prior to a cyberattack against one of the company’s multi-signature wallets that led to the loss of over $230 million in assets at the time.

“After careful consideration of the situation and the feedback received from numerous users, we are constrained to restore the balances of all accounts and undo all trades carried out on the WazirX platform following the stoppage of withdrawals on 18 July 2024, 1 PM IST,” stated WazirX in a company blog post, adding that users’ portfolio balances on the WazirX platform will be restored to what they were on July 18 this year, at 1 PM IST.

The measure is set to go into effect over the next few days.

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“This decision has not been made lightly and aims to protect the integrity of our platform and facilitate an equitable outcome for users following the abnormality arising as a result of the cyberattack which occurred on 18 July 2024,” noted the crypto exchange.

WazirX had previously said it was locking up a portion of users’ funds after the attack and also stopped withdrawals, leading to frustration. Adding to this, the company proposed a “socialised” loss strategy where the losses would be spread to all users, with the aim of ensuring equality.

However, the move was not a popular one as crypto investors and traders in India demanded that WazirX be more transparent about the impact of the cyberattack on its total holdings.

CEO Nischal Shetty has repeatedly asked for time and insisted that the exchange was in touch with the Indian authorities. He said this week that an FIR had been filed.

Weeks after the cyberattack took place, as users bemoaned the lack of transparency and compensation from WazirX’s leadership, rival CoinDCX announced a ₹50 crore investor protection fund that it said was meant to compensate its customers in case of security breaches.

The incident has shed light on India’s largely unregulated crypto industry and the power that centralised exchanges can wield over traders’ access to their own assets.