Singapore-based crypto lending platform Vauld freezes trades

As the crypto sector’s turmoil stretches on, more companies are adopting extreme measures to protect themselves, even if it means stopping their own users from accessing funds. 

The Singapore-based crypto lending platform, Vauld, announced via a corporate statement on Monday that it was suspending all deposits, trades, and withdrawals on its platform.

“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 CEO Darshan Bathija said in the corporate statement.

The Vauld management said it was experiencing financial challenges due to “volatile market conditions” and blamed the collapse of Terra, the Celsius network halting withdrawals, and Three Arrows Capital defaulting on loans for its own difficulties.

It also claimed that customers have withdrawn more than $197.7 million since 12 June this year.

“In furtherance of this, we have engaged the services of Kroll Pte Limited as our financial advisor, as well as Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP as our legal advisors in India and Singapore respectively,” stated the release.

Mr. Bathija also said the company planned to apply to the Singapore courts to pause proceedings against related companies, so that Vauld would be able to carry out its “restructuring exercise.”

Some of Vauld’s investors included Coinbase Ventures and Pantera Capital.

On June 21, Mr. Bathija had announced that Vauld’s headcount would by cut by 30%.

The move comes as Bitcoin continues to hover around the $20,000 mark, while Ether was worth around $1,100. The past weeks have seen crypto exchanges freezing withdrawals while others like Crypto.com and Coinbase announced mass-layoffs, citing market conditions.