Vauld, a crypto lending and exchange startup headquartered in Singapore, has suspended withdrawals, trading and deposits on its eponymous platform with immediate effect as it navigates “financial challenges,” it said Monday.
The startup — which counts Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital among its backers and has raised approximately $27 million — said it has been facing financial challenges during the market’s downturn and has raised about $17 million as of June 12. 198 million withdrawn from customers.
Vauld founder and CEO Darshan Bathija said the startup is exploring restructuring options and has worked with Kroll for financial advice and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann for legal advice in India and Singapore. It’s unclear how many users Vauld serves.
“We are confident that, with the advice of our financial and legal advisors, we will be able to arrive at a solution that will best protect the interests of Vauld’s customers and stakeholders,” he wrote in a blog post, adding that the startup has “specific arrangements” for customer deposits to meet their margin calls.
Vauld allows clients to earn what it says are the “highest interest rates in the industry on major cryptocurrencies”. Its website states that it offers 12.68% annual returns when wagering various so-called stablecoins, including USDC and BUSD and 6.7% on Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens. The platform allowed clients to borrow against their tokens and also facilitated several other trading services.
On its website, Vauld says it will allow users to borrow up to an LTV (loan to value) of 66.67% against their tokens and approve their loans “immediately.” Like several tech stocks, many crypto tokens have fallen in value by more than 70% in the past six months.
An illustration of how Vauld works. (Image: Vault)
“We ask Vauld platform customers for understanding that we will not be able to process any new or further requests or instructions in this regard. Specific arrangements will be made for customer deposits that may be required by certain customers to meet margin calls related to collateralised loans,” Bathija wrote today.
The announcement follows a 30% cut in Vauld’s workforce two weeks ago.
The move comes as a surprise. On June 16, Bathija had Vauld assured clients that the platform had no exposure to Celsius, another lender facing mounting financial challenges, and Three Arrows Capital, one of the high-profile crypto hedge funds that filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy over the company. weekend.
“We remain liquid despite the market conditions. Over the past few days, all recordings have been processed as usual and will continue to be so in the future,” says Bathija. wrote earlier†