Nischal Shetty, the co-founder of crypto exchange WazirX, has publicly addressed allegations of similarity between him and infamous stockbroker fraudster Harshad Mehta, and claimed that he is actually a victim of “false narrative”. Shetty took to X (formerly Twitter) to seek support of users for his proposed restructuring scheme, almost five months after WazirX was hit by a cyber hack that resulted in loss of Rs 2000 crore worth of user funds.
Addressing allegations put forth by an X user who referred to him as the “Harshad Mehta of Web3”, Nischal said he is trying his best to resolve the issue at hand, even as millions of WazirX users anxiously await retrieval of their locked funds. Mehta was a stockbroker at the Bombay Stock Exchange in the early 90’s who was convicted for fraudulent activities and market manipulation.
Nischal took to Twitter, warning against believing “convenient but misleading narratives” against the WazirX exchange. In light of ongoing bull run, WazirX management is under immense pressure to return the users’ funds that have been locked and suspended for the past 4.5 months. After the July 18 hack, WazirX users lost 45% of funds after which the management had proposed a restructuring scheme in front of Singapore Court where users are expected to accept a socialistic loss sharing policy on their crypto funds.
The restructuring plan aims to reimburse user funds once the exchange resumes operations. According to Shetty, withdrawals will only occur post-restructuring to avoid delays. He explained that allowing deposit withdrawals before the restructuring efforts are completed, would force the team to halt their progress.
Shetty also pointed out that the remaining frozen funds are under legal scrutiny. “The remaining amount is still frozen in the bank. We’re pursuing it through the legal process,” he added. The restructuring process progressed on Friday as WazirX submitted an affidavit to the Singapore Court. Nischal Shetty stated that an application was filed to seek approval for convening a meeting of creditors, describing it as a crucial step in advancing the proposed scheme.
The coming two weeks would be crucial for not just WazirX management but 4.4 million users of the exchange as the Singapore court is set to announce voting among users to pass the restructuring scheme.
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