Binance clarifies position; removes off-chain fund transfer with WazirX
On August 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced the freezing of bank deposits worth Rs 64.67 crore as part of a money laundering probe against WazirX.
—the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume—on Monday released an official statement clarifying that the exchange was removing the off-chain fund transfer channel between and Binance, which will be effective from August 11, 2022 03:00 (UTC).
Patrick Hillmann, Chief Communications Officer at Binance, said, "At Binance, we prioritise the protection of users and the community. Binance will cease to support off-chain fund transfers between WazirX Exchange and Binance via the 'Login with Binance' option. Users will still be able to deposit and withdraw balances via the standard withdrawal and deposit process between Binance and WazirX."
Previously, on August 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that it froze bank deposits worth Rs 64.67 crore as part of a money laundering probe against WazirX. Earlier, in 2019, Binance had announced the acquisition of WazirX in a blog post, stating that users from November 25, 2019 could buy and sell crypto with Indian rupees (INR) on Binance Fiat Gateway.
However, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of crypto exchange Binance, claimed on a Twitter thread on Friday that the company did not own any equity in the Indian crypto exchange WazirX. In response to the tweet, Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO of WazirX, countered by saying that Binance did acquire WazirX, and Zanmai Labs had the licence from Binance to operate INR-crypto pairs on WazirX.
Recently, Zhao and Shetty released a series of tweets about the acquisition. However, due to the clash, it seems like the relationship between the two exchanges has turned sour. As per the tweets, Binance has distanced itself from all operations at WazirX or its parent company Zanmai Labs. In the tweets, Changpeng Zhao claimed that Binance didn't own any equity in Zanmai Labs and only provided wallet services to WazirX as a technology solution.
Patrick further stated, "Moving forward, Binance will support Indian regulators in the ongoing matters concerning WazirX. Binance believes in keeping an open dialogue with regulators, policymakers and the law enforcement community as we collectively seek to establish a global regulatory framework for the industry."
Edited by Kanishk Singh
