Withdrawals blocked: start of a crisis for Vauld?

Celsius, Coinbase, Three Arrows Capital, the CEO of FTX explains that many are secretly insolvent exchanges… After the start of this new bear market and the failure of the Terra-Luna ecosystem, several crypto platforms have been having problems and it is now the turn of Vauld.

The collapse of the crypto market is putting Vauld in a crisis

The Singapore-based crypto trading and lending platform (formerly Bank of Hodlers) halted withdrawals yesterday. In a post published this morning, 4 July, the company’s CEO, Darshan Bathija, explained that the company has decided to “suspend all withdrawals, trading and deposits with immediate effect.”

The reason is simple: the market is too volatile, but obviously also economic problems for the company itself, according to Bathija. Yet Vauld has promised to bounce back, thanks to Kroll. In fact, the company has hired a financial advisor and also two legal advisors, namely Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.

The CEO of Vauld explained:

“Our management remains fully committed to working with our financial and legal advisors to the best of our abilities to explore and analyse all possible options, including potential restructuring options, that would best protect the interests of Vauld’s stakeholders”.

Also according to the statement by CEO Darshan Bathija, this suspension of operations also follows Singapore law:

“We intend to apply to the Singapore courts for a moratorium i.e. a suspension of the commencement or continuation of any proceedings against the relevant companies so as to give us breathing space to carry out the proposed restructuring exercise”.

There are many stakeholders in Vauld’s company, including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Coinbase and Pantera Capital. In total, Vauld has received $27.5 million in investments so far.

Lightning in a bottle for Vauld?

Just a few weeks ago, on 16 June, in a post published by Vauld, the company stated:

“We continue to operate as usual despite volatile market conditions. We do not have any exposure to Celsius or Three Arrows Capital, and we remain liquid despite market conditions. Over the last few days, all withdrawals were processed as usual and this will continue to be the case in the future”.

This is what the company stated, which does not make one hopeful about the future of the company.