• Binance has stopped its wallet services for the Indian cryptocurrency platform WazirX following a public argument over ownership.
• Binance gave Zanmai Labs an ultimatum to withdraw their false statements or end the partnership, and since no satisfactory reply was received, they have discontinued their association.
• The proof of reserves report showed that 90% of WazirX’s user assets were stored in Binance wallets, however Binance has emphasized that they do not own WazirX and only provide wallet and tech services to it.
Binance Ends Wallet Support for WazirX
Binance, the biggest crypto exchange globally, has discontinued its wallet services for WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency platform. This decision was made due to false claims made by Zanmai Labs which manages WazirX regarding who holds authority over the exchange. Binance set a deadline of February 3rd 2023 at 11:59 UTC for Zanmai Labs to retrieve the funds utilized for WazirX’s operations before ending the association.
Public Argument Over Ownership
The dispute between Binance and Zanmai Labs began after Indian authorities started looking into alleged violations of foreign exchange regulations by WazirX. A public argument then sparked between WazirX’s co-founder Nischal Shetty and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Twitter regarding who held authority over the exchange.
Proof of Reserves Report
A proof of reserves report recently revealed by CoinGabbar – a third-party website – showed that 90% of user assets were stored in Binance wallets with a total value of $285 million USDT tied to U.S dollar value. This was represented as 92% ($259 million) belonging to Binance while other exchanges held only $26 million worth of user assets.
Ultimatum Given by Binance
Binace gave Zanmai Labs an opportunity to withdraw their untrue statements or end the partnership however when they didn’t receive a satisfactory reply they ended the association setting a deadline for them to retrieve all funds used in operation before doing so.
Binance Denies Ownership Claims
Despite announcements back in 2019 pointing otherwise, binance has emphasized that they do not own Wazirx but simply provide wallet and tech services to it instead.