Crypto exchanges have been halting their services one after the other citing volatile market conditions. Vauld became the latest one to do so. On Monday, the Singapore based crypto trading and lending platform, announced that it was suspending withdrawals, trading, and deposits.
In a recently published blog post, CEO Darshan Bhatija said,
“…. we have made the difficult decision to suspend all withdrawals, trading and deposits on the Vauld platform with immediate effect. We believe that this will help to facilitate our exploration of the suitability of potential restructuring options, together with our financial and legal advisors.”
Vauld crippled by ‘financial challenges’
The blog post went on to highlight that Vauld has been facing “financial challenges,” despite the team’s “best efforts.” Outlining various external factors affecting the same, the released statement read,
“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 which has led to a significant amount of customer withdrawals in excess of a $197.7 m since 12 June 2022.”
In a previously released statement, Vauld had clarified that it βcontinues to operate as usual despite volatile market conditions.” In a mail sent on 16 June, it highlighted,
βWe 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.β
Well, the deteriorating state of the market has evidently forced the company to dishonour its affirmation. The same has left the platform’s users dissapointed. Speaking exclusively to WatcherGuru, Bhavesh Sachdev, an Ernst and Young article and CA final student said,
“Obviously, I’m disappointed that I cannot make more deposits or neither can I withdraw. I have balance left in my Vauld wallet. Now my money just lies idle.”
Alongside, CoinCrunch CEO Naimish Sanghvi also exclaimed that he’s “really sad” the way things have unfolded for Vauld.
Opining on the current situation, Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz tweeted, “RIP Vauld.” When asked about “who” Vauld was, Schwartz replied:
The hefty returns promised by the company was one of the main reason that drove Sachdev to park his funds on the platform. However now, uncertainty haunts him.
Alongside, it should be noted that that prominent Indian influencers kept promoting the platform on various channels, right from YouTube to Instagram. Per Sachdev, such people need to step and take responsibility. He said,
“I feel people like Ankur Warikoo who have endorssed that Vauld is such a great app, should come out and take some responsibility and inform everybody that this is the situation and even we are a part of it. Or else you just feel like you are alone in it.”
During these tough times, the company also allegedly laid off its entire content strategy team last month. Despite that, towards the end of June, it revealed its expansion plans.
What the future beholds?
Sachdev told WatcherGuru that Vauld ought to prioritize its users and atleast provide a rough timeline as to when the company will remove the suspensions.
The blog post vaguely highlighted the same, with Bhatija saying,
“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.”