Following a massive hack, WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange, has faced a setback in its stride, with investors anxious about their funds amidst a gloomy future.
On Thursday, WazirX experienced a security breach in their multi-sig wallet, leading to a loss of $235 million, which amounts to half of their investors’ funds.
As of now, WazirX has halted withdrawals from their platform and lodged a complaint with India’s police. Moreover, the policy of WazirX prohibits its near 1.5 million users from taking any legal action to claim their funds, for at least 60 days.
In such an uncertain environment, Indian crypto investors are now looking for new exchanges that can take up the top position in the country.
According to current market statistics and reputation, there are three potential candidates that can capture the Indian crypto landscape in the near future.
CoinDCX
CoinDCX and WazirX are pioneering crypto exchanges, who entered the Indian market at a very early stage. With the advantage of being among the oldest crypto exchanges, CoinDCX boasts of a strong user base of over 1.5 million customers. Now that WazirX is experiencing a tough time, CoinDCX can capitalize on this opportunity.
CoinDCX follows four key security principles: protecting its systems from threats, preventing internal misuse, minimizing human error, and strictly opposing data fraud.
Founders of CoinDCX claim that they secure 95% of funds in geographically distributed multi-signature cold wallets using top-tier hardware security modules (HSMs). Only 5% of assets are stored in hot wallets and are insured by BitGo.
Additionally, personal accounts are safeguarded with two-factor authentication and withdrawal confirmations. Moreover, CoinDCX offers a wider range of cryptocurrencies and advanced trading features. As per CoinGecko, CoinDCX’s daily trading volume increased to $2,399,088 at the time of publishing of this report.
CoinDCX founders are Sumir Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal.
Bitbns
With a user base of over 4 million in India, Bitbns offers advanced features and a wide variety of cryptocurrency pairs. This includes bracket orders with trailing stop limits, 24/7 customer support, and more.
To assure the safety of users, Bitbns utilizes the latest technology architecture and grade-A security features, including a bug bounty program. Furthermore, it requires all accounts to have 2FA and offers the option for Google authentication.
With a trading volume of $1,458,943 in the last 24 hours, Bitbns allows traders to trade 134 coins and 155 trading pairs. Based on the VIP levels, the trading fees on Bitbns vary between 0.03% and 0.25% for those who transact on BNS.
The founders of Bitbns are Gaurav Dahake, Prashant Singh and Srikanth Sethumadhavan.
MudreX
MudreX is one of the rapidly growing crypto exchanges in India and has become popular among ordinary investors. Launched in 2018, MudreX holds a loyal user base of over 2 million worldwide, with 70% belonging to India.
MudreX has taken measures to fortify its users against possible breaches, including 2FA and Google authentication. Furthermore, MudreX has partnered with Binance Institutional Custody, which means MudreX can utilize $100 million dedicated insurance for Binance Institutional Clients, as well as a $1 billion SAFU insurance fund.
In case of hacking incidents like WazirX, MudreX will refund users’ money if it is lost due to security loopholes in the crypto exchange. At the time of writing, the total market cap of MudreX is $57,266,000, with a daily trading volume of $3.39 million.
The founder and CEO of Mudrex is Edul Patel.
Conclusion
With WazirX experiencing a setback, the top position in India’s crypto space is left open with many equally competent players in the game. While the three exchanges discussed in the article are top-notch, there are other new players entering the Indian markets as well. Additionally, global players like Binance are planning to re-enter India, with discussions underway.
The incident with WazirX serves as a reminder for crypto investors to do their due diligence regarding robust safety features while choosing the perfect exchange for them.
Also Read: Shock, Dismay, Humour Flood Internet after WazirX Hack