As the repercussions from the downturn in digital assets continue to resonate, Vauld, a cryptocurrency lender supported by Coinbase Inc., announced it has frozen withdrawals and recruited consultants to examine a potential reorganization.
The Singapore-based company hired Kroll as financial adviser and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP as legal advisers, Chief Executive Officer Darshan Bathija said in a blog post on Monday. All withdrawals, trading and deposits on the platform have been suspended.
Vauld’s move came less than three weeks after the company said it “continues to operate as usual” and that it had “maintained a balanced and conservative approach to liquidity management.” Its troubles echo those of crypto lenders Celsius Network and Babel Finance, which were forced to freeze withdrawals to conserve strained liquidity as markets tumbled.
Shortly after that attempt to reassure customers, Vauld announced plans to cut 30% of its headcount.
Bathija said in Monday’s blog post that Vauld had seen “in excess of” $197.7 million of customer withdrawals since June 12 as market conditions deteriorated. The CEO told the BusinessLine newspaper in May that he was targeting boosting assets under management to $5 billion from $1 billion.
Founded in 2018 by Bathija and Sanju Kurian, Vauld provides crypto lending and deposit products. It raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures in July last year.
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