WazirX Launches Crypto Futures Trading After $230 Million Hack
WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by historical user base, launched cryptocurrency futures trading on May 13, nine months after a $230 million security breach gutted its multi-signature wallet and froze customer withdrawals. The relaunch marks the exchange’s most significant product move since the July 2024 hack and arrives as the exchange pushes a court-supervised restructuring plan to repay affected users.
The Futures Relaunch
WazirX introduced perpetual futures, derivatives contracts with no expiration date that traders use to take leveraged positions on cryptocurrency prices, as its first new product since operations partially resumed in late 2024.
The exchange posted details of the offering on May 13 through its social media channels, describing mandatory know-your-customer verification and position limits as part of the initial rollout.
The move is strategically significant. Futures trading generates substantially higher fee revenue per dollar of notional volume than spot trading.
For an exchange operating under a restructuring agreement and facing the ongoing task of compensating users for losses from the 2024 breach, the incremental revenue from derivatives could accelerate repayment timelines. The Facebook post from Business Today noted the exchange was “pushing recovery” as a framing device alongside the product announcement.
The launch also tests whether Indian retail traders will return to a platform that suffered one of the largest exchange hacks in Asian cryptocurrency history.
WazirX had cultivated a reputation as the dominant onramp for Indian retail cryptocurrency participation before the breach.
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Background
The July 2024 hack struck WazirX’s Safe multi-signature wallet, which the exchange used to custody a large portion of user assets. Attackers, later attributed by blockchain forensics firms to North Korean-linked groups, compromised the signing process and drained approximately $230 million in tokens including Ethereum and Shiba Inu.
The breach immediately suspended withdrawals for all users and triggered a collapse in confidence in the platform.
WazirX’s ownership structure complicated the response. The exchange had a technical and operational partnership with Binance, though both parties disputed the nature of that relationship and the allocation of liability for the breach.
Binance publicly said it had no custody responsibility for WazirX user funds. WazirX founder Nischal Shetty pursued a restructuring under Singapore’s legal framework, eventually securing a scheme of arrangement that would repay users in tranches over time rather than immediately.
The exchange resumed limited spot trading in late 2024 after Singapore courts approved the restructuring plan.
The recovery has been slow, and user sentiment has remained fragile. The futures launch is the first product expansion since spot trading reopened.
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What the Futures Launch Signals
Exchanges that survive major security incidents typically follow a playbook focused on liability containment, regulatory engagement, and gradual product re-expansion.
WazirX’s decision to launch derivatives, rather than simply improving spot trading depth, suggests the exchange’s leadership believes the Indian retail market has sufficient appetite for leveraged products.
India’s cryptocurrency regulatory framework has evolved considerably since 2024. The country imposes a 30% flat tax on cryptocurrency gains and a 1% tax deducted at source on transactions, rules that discouraged volume on domestic exchanges and pushed traders toward offshore platforms.
WazirX’s competitive position against offshore venues offering futures without the same tax friction remains an open question.
The mandatory verification requirement for the futures product is consistent with India’s prevention of money laundering rules, which require exchanges to apply enhanced due diligence to high-risk product categories.
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Outlook
WazirX’s futures product will face two early tests.
The first is trading volume in the weeks after launch, which will indicate whether user trust has recovered enough to support margin exposure on the platform. The second is regulatory posture from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, which oversees cryptocurrency exchange registrations.
Any signal that derivatives trigger heightened scrutiny could constrain the product’s growth. If volume holds and the FIU does not move against the product, the exchange will likely expand the futures offering to additional pairs and higher leverage tiers before the end of 2026.
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