The cryptocurrency exchange has received over 93% approval from creditors for its proposed Scheme of Arrangement, bringing those affected by the $230 million hack in July closer to recovering some of their assets.
The voting took place via the Kroll Issuer Services platform from March 19 to March 28 and saw participation from over 141,000 creditors with approved claims totaling $195.65 million.
Out of these, 131,659 creditors, representing $184.99 million, voted in favor, which equals 93.1% based on the number of votes and 94.6% on the value of claims. This result surpassed the requirements set by Singapore’s Companies Act, which necessitates majority approval by count and 75% by value.
Should the scheme not have gained approval, the process would have proceeded toward liquidation under the Companies Act, substantially decreasing creditors’ chances for asset recovery, which was projected for 2030, according to the exchange’s statements made in February.
With the voting outcome confirmed, plans are in place for Zettai to seek court approval from Singapore. If granted, an initial payout would occur within 10 business days, followed by gradual resumptions of withdrawals and trading, subject to compliance with regulations.
The refund strategy includes the introduction of a decentralized exchange (DEX), the issuance of recovery tokens that can be traded, and periodic buybacks of these tokens utilizing platform profits along with new revenue streams.
In July 2024, users suffered losses exceeding $230 million due to a breach orchestrated by the Lazarus Group, attributed to an interception of a private key, which the exchange claimed was the fault of its custody provider, Liminal. Liminal, however, has denied this, indicating vulnerabilities on the side of the exchange.
The hacker laundered all stolen funds through various addresses utilizing Tornado Cash, thereby obscuring the transactions, as reported earlier in September, which led to diminished hopes for total recovery. Since then, the exchange has been attempting to trace and recover the lost funds, albeit with limited success.