"Singapore Court Approves WazirX Restructuring Plan, Users Could Recover 80% After Hack"

The High Court of Singapore has approved a restructuring plan for crypto exchange WazirX, enabling the platform to repay customers after a hack in July 2024 that resulted in a loss of $235 million. The court supported the plan, which estimates users could recover up to 80% of their account balances, over liquidation, citing a speedy resolution and fund distribution as the best course for users.

WazirX will initiate a voting process among users, expected to conclude in three months. If a majority votes in favor, the exchange will distribute liquid assets to users based on their claims, including gains from the bull market.

In a significant legal development, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas reversed the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions on Tornado Cash. The privacy protocol was sanctioned in 2022 for allegedly facilitating money laundering by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which is believed to have laundered over $455 million in stolen crypto through it.

Despite the sanctions’ reversal, Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev remains in police custody on money laundering-related charges.

Crypto exchange Coinbase has asked the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that crypto trades are not securities. In a Jan. 21 filing, Coinbase argued that understanding whether secondary market transactions are investment contracts under securities laws is crucial for the industry and would provide clear rules for market participants.

The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established via executive order by President Donald Trump, is facing legal challenges following his inauguration. Ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, consumer protection group Public Citizen, and the Center for Biological Diversity have all filed lawsuits against DOGE, seeking rulings on its legality and compliance with transparency, ethics, records retention, and equal representation requirements.

The SEC partially won its bid to throw out the legal defenses laid out by crypto exchange Kraken. A federal judge axed Kraken’s argument that Congress did not give the securities regulator power over digital assets, known as the major questions doctrine. Other crypto companies, including Coinbase, Ripple, and Binance, have also cited this defense in their cases against the SEC.