An Indian high court has made a significant ruling that could alter how cryptocurrency exchanges deal with user claims following incidents like hacks.

Recently, Justice N. Ananad Venkatesh of the High Court of Judicature at Madras ordered WazirX’s operator, Zanmai Lab, to secure a bank guarantee of approximately $11,800 as part of arbitration for a user concerning 3,532 XRP tokens. These tokens have been under the control of Zanmai, which had frozen them following a cyberattack in 2024 that resulted in losses exceeding $235 million in cryptocurrency.

“Since the cyber attack took place, there are insufficient cryptocurrency tokens attributable to the platform’s user liabilities to satisfy unsecured user claims,” stated the court filing.

In addition, the ruling recognized cryptocurrency as property that can be owned and put into trust for legal claims, contextualizing the complaint made by the WazirX user regarding the XRP tokens.

With WazirX’s base in India and its parent company, Zettai, located in Singapore, this ruling brings added complexity to the claims process.

Restructuring Plan in Singapore

After the significant hack in 2024, Zettai has been devising a restructuring plan under Singapore’s legal framework. The plan received approval from Singapore’s high court on October 13, which laid the foundation for user repayment after a lengthy period of uncertainty.

The implications of the Indian court’s decision on Zettai’s plan remain to be seen, and Cointelegraph has reached out to WazirX for further comment.