An Indian cryptocurrency exchange called WazirX has shut down its NFT market. The “marketplace has been sunsetted,” claims the website.
By clicking the OpenSea link on the website, users can still trade NFTs and sell or buy the NFTs they purchased on WazirX. According to WazirX’s OpenSea profile, 52,253 goods are offered for sale.
The scenario is upsetting users, and many of them fear that the exchange may be the next to close. Yet, there is no confirmation regarding the matter. It’s likely that the NFT market is experiencing some technical issues right now and will shortly resume operations.
Due to India’s position on cryptocurrencies and other virtual digital assets, or VDAs, the crypto business is on uncertain ground, which puts WazirX in danger.
The cryptocurrency company Wazirx laid off 50 to 70 employees in October 2022 to “weather the crypto winter.” The Indian sector has been decimated by a protracted crypto winter, and over the past few months, WazirX has been progressively expanding its activities.
On the cryptocurrency trading site, users can still make deposits, but INR withdrawals need to be enabled. To relieve some consumer anxiety brought on by several conflicts, the company made proof of reserves available to the public.
WazirX has $315.56 million in total reserves as of February 22, 2023, at 1:50 PM, of which only $9.76 million was on its exchange and the rest was stored on the blockchain.
The biggest exchange in the world, Binance, and WazirX have previously had disagreements over who owns the platform. The cryptocurrency titan was thought to have acquired the Indian exchange in 2019.
CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao said that the deal was never finalized. In a blog post, the CZ-led platform ordered Zanmai Labs, the company in charge of the renowned Indian crypto exchange, to remove funds that were stored in Binance wallets.
Binance responded to user concerns concerning their assets. But the closing of the NFT market and the Binance mess have rekindled investor trepidation. They need to learn about the exchange’s plans going forward as well as the market issue.
WazirX has also being investigated by the Indian government. A money laundering case involving assets worth INR 64.67 Cr was frozen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in August of last year, just hours before Zhao sent out his infamous string of tweets. In June 2021, the ED also issued a show-cause notice to WazirX for transactions amounting INR 2,790.74 Cr. This investigation is ongoing.
