Binance moves to dissociate self from WazirX over recent allegations

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has denied that the exchange owns any equity in Zanmai Labs, the company behind the Indian crypto exchange WazirX.

Quick thread on Binance and WazirX, and some incorrect reporting.

Binance does not own any equity in Zanmai Labs, the entity operating WazirX and established by the original founders.

1/4

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 5, 2022

The revelation followed India’s Enforcement Directorate’s decision to freeze an account belonging to WazirX over allegations of money laundering.

In the Aug. 5 Twitter thread, Zhao said that Binance did not complete the acquisition of WazirX as claimed by a blog post published on November 21, 2019. CZ said:

“Binance has never – at any point – owned any shares of Zanmai Labs, the entity operating WazirX.”

He continued that Binance only provides wallet services to WazirX and an integration that uses off-chain transactions to save on network fees. CZ stated that:

“WazirX is responsible (for) all other aspects of the WazirX exchange, including user sign-up, KYC, trading and initiating withdrawals.”

Zhao also mentioned that the recent allegations about the operations of WazirX are concerning and do not align with the values of Binance as it collaborates with law enforcement globally.

CZ also stated that WazirX has been uncooperative with Binance. He said Binance had requested the transfer of the WazirX system source code as recently as this February but was rejected.

Fact: we asked for transferring of WazirX system source code, deployment, operations, as recently as Feb this year. This was refused by WazirX. Binance do NOT have control on their systems.

WazirX has been uncooperative with us, and looks like uncooperative with ED as well.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 6, 2022

Zhao advised WazirX users to transfer their funds to his exchange as he “could disable WazirX wallets on a tech level, but we can’t/won’t do that” to not hurt the users, he added.

If you have funds on WazirX, you should transfer it to Binance. Simple as that.

We could disable WazirX wallets on a tech level, but we can’t/won’t do that. And as much debates as we are enduring, we can’t/won’t hurt users. 🙏

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 5, 2022

Sad that these have to be debated on Twitter:

Binance provides wallet services for WazirX.
WazirX domain is transferred to our control.
We were given a shared access to an AWS account.

We could shutdown WazirX. But we can’t, because.. 1/2 https://t.co/YoMIgAHC5v

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 5, 2022

As of press time, Binance’s official website still showed the announcement of its WazirX acquisition.

WazirX founder insists Binance bought the exchange

WazirX’s founder Nischal Shetty has insisted that Binance indeed bought the exchange.

1/ FACTS about WazirX & Binance:

WazirX was acquired by Binance

Zanmai Labs is an India entity owned by me & my co-founders

Zanmai Labs has license frm Binance to operate INR-Crypto pairs in WazirX

Binance operates crypto to crypto pairs, processes crypto withdrawal…

— Nischal (Shardeum) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) August 5, 2022

“We could shut down WazirX” – Proves you have control

“Shared access of AWS” – You have ROOT access of AWS! Anyone with root access controls AWS

“WazirX domain transferred to our control” – Good to see you confirm that

Only control now is Zanmai, why are you not taking it? https://t.co/5E4zzWiOI7

— Nischal (Shardeum) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) August 6, 2022

Shetty added that Zanmai Labs is an entity owned by him and other co-founders.

According to him:

“Zanmai Labs has a license from Binance to operate INR-Crypto pairs in WazirX, but Binance operates crypto to crypto pairs, processes crypto withdrawals.”

He added that Zanmai and WazirX are two different entities, and Binance owns the WazirX domain name, has access to all crypto assets on the exchange, and gets all the crypto profits.

WazirX’s user agreement showed that Binance offered crypto-related services for the Indian-based exchange.

Meanwhile, Shetty said that all crypto and Indian rupees on WazirX are safe, and the exchange complies with KYC and AML standards.

All user assets – Crypto & INR on WazirX are safe

WazirX has always ensured KYC is conducted, AML policies are in place

We only allow bank transfers so everything is traceable

WazirX to Binance transfer is recorded in our database ALWAYS and it’s ONLY between users own account

— Nischal (Shardeum) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) August 6, 2022

Indian crypto community in limbo

The conflicting assertions have sparked debate within the Indian crypto community as many wonders why Zhao denies WazirX ownership

CryptoWhale alleged that there are 93 legal documents confirming Binance’s ownership of WazirX, including a user agreement last reviewed on July 1, 2022.

Immediately after the news broke that India’s WazirX exchange is being probed by authorities for money laundering, Binance CEO CZ claims they never acquired the firm.

Yet 93 legal documents confirm Binance owns them, and CZ even admitted it in tweets last year. pic.twitter.com/Gub4urthgV

— CryptoWhale (@CryptoWhale) August 5, 2022