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Vauld, a Singapore-headquartered lending platform, said on Monday it is suspending all withdrawals, trading and deposits citing “financial challenges” at the firm.
But a look at the Twitter pages of the company and its co-founder shows users complaining that they have had difficulties making withdrawals since June 30.
According to the company, it has seen a “significant amount of customer withdrawals in excess of a $197.7 m since 12 June 2022.” A fortnight ago, Vauld sent an email to customers assuring them that everything was fine and that it “continues to operate as usual despite volatile market conditions.”
The company is currently exploring restructuring options and has engaged the services of Kroll as its financial advisor, as well as Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore as its legal advisors in India and Singapore respectively.
“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,” Vauld said.
No exposure to 3AC
Like many other lending platforms currently in trouble, Vauld offered attractive interest rates for users on their cryptocurrencies, including 12.68% annual yields on staking several so-called stablecoins including USDC and BUSD and 6.7% on Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens.
Read more: Hodlnaut is Too Flawed to HODL – Here’s Why
In June, co-founder Darshan Bathija said Vauld does not have direct exposure to 3AC or Celsius, although 3AC was a seed investor in the company since 2020 and made a complete exit in December 2021.
The company previously said it would be laying off about 30% of its workforce, amid “uncertain market conditions.” It also said it would cut marketing expenses, slow down hiring, reduce executive compensation by 50% and pause a majority of its vendor engagements.
Read more: [UPDATED] 3AC Enters Liquidation – What Happens Next?
Founded in 2018, Vauld counts Peter Thiel, Pantera and Coinbase among its investors and has raised US$27 million in a Series A round. The company currently has 100+ employees.
