WazirX says Binance controls WRX token

Binance took all proceeds (about $2 million) from the WRX token sale during the IEO and controls wallets holding the entire issuance of the asset, according to WazirX.

? Update on $WRX Token Management & Burn Clarification

Full details here — https://t.co/pzhjsJCXpl

In light of recent events, we would like to clarify that Binance controls the WRX token.

Binance had conducted the IEO for $WRX, and all the sale proceeds of WRX IEO (i.e.,… pic.twitter.com/ChZqlGuhBt

— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) May 16, 2023

The platform team said it did not receive any tokens in the distribution.

According to the statement, Binance manages a total of 580.78 million WRX that are blocked and unlocked. Of the latter, the global trading platform transferred 116.8 million tokens in four transactions to its own treasury account. The price fell after each operation.

Binance also controls the issuance of WRX according to a schedule and is responsible for quarterly burns, the most recent of which was conducted in March 2022.

“We hope this clarification will clear up any confusion about WRX governance,” said WazirX.

In November 2019, Binance announced the acquisition of the Indian exchange.

In August 2022, India’s Enforcement Directorate suspected WazirX in laundering $350 million. According to media reports, the regulator froze assets of the exchange worth $8.16 million as part of the case.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao immediately denied any link between the company and the platform, stating that the deal to acquire its operator Zanmai Labs had not actually been completed. It was allegedly about buying only “certain assets and intellectual property.”

WazirX co-founder Nishal Shetty confirmed that Binance’s Singapore unit sold to Binance “the technology, product, domain, brand and the rest.” He said that this, in essence, constitutes the crypto exchange, so Zhao’s company gained control over it. Under Binance’s management were trading, deposits and withdrawals. Zanmai Labs retained only operations in Indian rupees, Shetty stressed.

Regulatory concerns about WazirX dated back to 2021 — the exchange was suspected of violating currency rules.

In the same year, one of Binance’s units came under the ED’s scrutiny.