Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX – The Journey So Far

WazirX – Indian Crypto Exchange

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency created for all and intended to be used for everything. It is universal, secure, and transparent. After doing rounds for years, the virtual currency has made its way to financial markets in India. WazirX is one of India’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges that enable individuals to trade cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

WazirX provides the lowest trading cost (0.2 percent) in addition to the use of cutting-edge technology and an innovative matching engine and runs on the peer-to-peer (P2P) model. It also has a native token called WRX (one billion in supply) built on the Binance blockchain technology. For Indian crypto enthusiasts, here is an overview of events that have defined WazirX’s journey so far.

Founders And Co-Founders

WazirX was established by a group of India-based techies – Nischal Shetty, Sameer Mhatre, and Siddharth Menon. While developing and tweaking computer programs, the team members envisioned developing the Indian crypto market by introducing a sophisticated exchange utilizing blockchain. Besides collaborating on WazirX, Shetty, Mhatre, and Menon jointly head Crowdfire, an interactive tool for brands, influencers, and bloggers, to drive social media engagement.

With its world-class UX and seamless P2P model, the platform serves novice and pro-crypto traders alike. The raving WazirX Review by the platform’s users suggest that the exchange is gaining a strong foothold within and beyond the nation.

How WazirX Started – History

The exchange derives its name from the variant chess piece “Wazir” to denote its power in the evolving crypto ecosystem. Wazirx started on March 8, 2018. The founders then thought of leveraging the growing adoption of virtual currency to allow local people to be part of it.

Soon after the launch, the fate of WazirX was clouded by the decision of the Reserve Bank of India on April 5, 2018, banning banks from facilitating cryptocurrency trading. However, the ban was lifted later by the Supreme Court of India. But in the meantime, the WazirX team integrated the auto-matching P2P transaction system to survive the blanket ban and introduced WRX to expand the user base.

WazirX Partnerships

WazirX is committed to involving everyone in the blockchain revolution. 

Acquisition By Binance: On November 20, 2019, the leading international crypto exchange Binance acquired WazirX to expand operations in the Indian subcontinent. Besides listing WRX on its launchpad, Binance will allow Indian crypto traders to trade with Binance Coin (BNB), fiat (Indian rupee INR)-to-crypto trading pairs, and support blockchain projects and tokens.

EdTech Partnerships: To help students build a career in cryptocurrency and blockchain and spread awareness about cryptocurrency, WazirX tied up with EdTech companies and e-learning platforms, such as the Indian Blockchain Institute, Inblox Academy, Qualki Academy, Zubi, and Corum8.

Milestones Achieved By WazirX

WazirX has reached several milestones in less than three years of its launch, representing its success in the crypto exchange industry.

1. The platform allowed placing the INR trade orders in equivalent BTC or USDT in October 2018.
2. It completed the ICX mainnet swap in October 2018.
3. WazirX was acquired by Binance in November 2019.
4. WazirX collaborated with the blockchain scalability platform Matic Network to develop an automated market maker (AMM) protocol based on decentralized finance (DeFi) in August 2020.
5. It crossed one million active users and one billion USDT in volume in January 2021.

WazirX Success Roadmap

Following its acquisition by Binance, WazirX aims at maximizing cryptocurrency adoption in developing nations that lack fiat on-ramps or exchanges for cryptos. Significant events in WazirX’s roadmap include:

1. WazirX crossed ₹100 Crores worth of P2P trades within 6 months of launching it – unbelievable in a bear market and under a banking ban.
2. WazirX broke its own record by crossing 200 BTC in the 24-hr trading volume. It introduced 2FA on authenticator apps for everyone for a more secure in-app trading experience.
3. WazirX launched its Referral Program with the highest commission payout. It also became the youngest Indian exchange to get listed on CoinMarketCap.

Final Thoughts

WazirX is a simple, secure, and best crypto exchange, which is gaining traction for its auto-matching P2P engine. The crypto exchange has gone international with the acquisition by Binance. With all the requisite trading features and multiple trading pairs, WazirX is a great platform to begin the crypto trading journey in India.