Lending platform Vauld suspends transactions

Vauld suspends all transactions on the platform to look into restructuring options amidst the crypto market downturn

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

Singapore-based crypto trading and lending platform Vauld has suspended all customer withdrawals, deposits and trading on its platform from Monday. The platform is looking to restructure its platform after it witnessed withdrawals worth $198 million since the June 12 Celsius debacle.

On July 4, in a statement issued by Vauld, CEO Darshan Bathija announced the withdrawal suspension. “This is due to a combination of circumstances such as the volatile market conditions, the financial difficulties of our key business partners inevitably affecting us, and the current market climate.”

He added, “All this has led to a significant amount of customer withdrawals of over $197.7 million since June 12, 2022, when the decline of the crypto market was triggered by the collapse of Terraform Lab’s UST stablecoin, Celsius network pausing withdrawals, and Three Arrows Capital defaulting on their loans.”

The suspension of withdrawals, deposits and trading will involve locking all the money invested by the retail investors during the time of a global macroeconomic downturn. After the immediate suspension, Kroll has taken the role of the financial advisor for Vauld. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas legal firm in India and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP in Singapore are to provide their legal services to the trading platform.

Vauld CEO said, “We believe this will help facilitate our exploration of the suitability of potential restructuring options, together with our financial and legal advisors. We seek the understanding of the customers of the Vauld platform that we will not be in a position to process any new or further requests or instructions in this regard. Specific arrangements will be made for customer deposits necessary for certain customers to meet margin calls in connection with collateralised loans.”

Due to the adverse conditions in the crypto-asset market triggered by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, several trading platforms reduced their workforce headcount in June. Bathija had tweeted, “We’ve taken the painful decision to reduce Vauld’s headcount by about 30 percent.” The company is taking a break to restructure and might also apply for a moratorium in the court of Singapore.

“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,” said Bathija.

Sanju Kurian and Bathija founded Vauld in 2018. Since then, it has been providing multiple products to crypto-asset investors like asset-backed lending and borrowing platforms and fixed deposits. Last year, Vauld raised $27 million from venture capitalists like Coinbase Ventures, Gumi Cryptos, Pantera Capital, CMT Digital, Cadenza Capital and Robert Leshner.

The writer is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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