WazirX customers slam automatic enrolment into crypto exchange’s subscription service

Multiple customers of cryptocurrency exchange WazirX have expressed confusion and disapproval online after learning that they were automatically enrolled in the company’s WazirX ZERO subscription service, which charges a monthly base fee for transactions.

Some WazirX traders and investors, accustomed to paying individual fees for trading activities, approached X to complain about sudden automatic deductions to which they did not consent.

After resuming operations in October and publishing the July 2024 multi-signature wallet hack and restructuring in Singapore, WazirX notified its customers about a change in transaction fee models.

WazirX described the WazirX ZERO program as “a new trading model where users no longer have to pay fees on every order” and stated that they can trade unlimited volumes across 300+ tokens for a flat monthly fee of ₹99. This means that per-transaction transaction fees are completely eliminated per exchange.

In a Nov. 26 press note announcing the launch of WazirX ZERO, the exchange claimed that it aims to reverse the more traditional fee model of charging users for every buy and sell because it “eats capital and reduces long-term returns.”

At that time, WazirX had also confirmed that WazirX ZERO would be the new model for trading and would be the default model on the platform. WazirX ZERO went live for all users on December 1.

CEO Nischal Shetty argued on December 18 that the strategy was the “right” strategy for most users of the WazirX platform.

In response to an

It also invited the user to write to the support team to resolve outage-related issues.

Automatic registration to a paid service without the customer’s informed consent is classified as a dark pattern or a deceptive user interface design that worsens the digital user’s experience.

Since the crypto market in India is still largely unregulated, Indian investors often find it difficult to lodge their legal complaints or have them heard by the relevant authorities.