Wyre, a crypto payments company based in San Francisco, has recently announced that it has initiated the process of winding down its operations. The company has also invited interested parties to inquire about purchasing its assets. According to Wyre, the decision to wind down operations was due to the challenges posed by the prolonged bear market and not because of regulatory conditions in the US markets.
Crypto company Wyre is shutting down due to the effects of the ongoing crypto winter. Bear Market Claims Another Victim
On Friday, Wyre announced that it will be shutting down operations. This decision comes a few months after Bolt Financial canceled its planned $1.5 billion acquisition of the crypto payments firm. Since the cancellation, the digital asset markets have experienced several high-profile bankruptcies, such as FTX, and lawsuits against prominent exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. However, Wyre has emphasized that the decision to shut down was not influenced by any regulatory agencies. Crypto company Wyre is shutting down due to the effects of the ongoing crypto winter.
“After nearly a decade, Wyre is winding down. Due to market conditions, we made this decision to protect the best interest of our key stakeholders and customers. This decision is not due to any regulatory agency direction. Wyre continues to secure customer assets.”
Wyre has announced that customers can withdraw their assets via the Wyre dashboard until July 14th, 2023. If customers miss this deadline, Wyre has established a separate process for asset recovery. Please refer to Wyre's blog post for further details.
“Wyre continues to secure customer assets. If you have assets on the Wyre platform, you can continue to withdraw them via Wyre’s dashboard until Friday, 14th July. After then, we will have a separate process to recover assets remaining on the platform. We will post details on the process on our website and blog.”
The Wyre team also seemed to suggest that the company’s assets were up for sale and that interested parties could inquire about purchasing the firm or its assets.
“If you’re interested in acquiring Wyre’s or its subsidiaries’ assets, please reach out to 88 Partners.”
Wyre’s Troubled Year
Wyre has faced challenges since Bolt Financial withdrew its plan to acquire the company for $1.5 billion in September 2022. Following the failed acquisition, Wyre's fiat-to-crypto on-ramp solution provider Juno advised its users to withdraw their crypto assets from the platform and self-custody them due to uncertainty surrounding Wyre's custodial partner.
“Juno as a platform doesn’t custody crypto assets & relies on our crypto partner for these services. Due to uncertainty with our crypto partner, we have taken preemptive action in the interest of our customers.”
The very next day, MetaMask also announced that it was ending support of the Wyre platform, citing several reports that the company was planning to shut down. MetaMask announced the news on its official Twitter handle, asking users not to use the Wyre service on the mobile aggregator.
False Dawn
Shortly after MetaMask ended its support for Wyre, the company implemented a 90% withdrawal limit for all users. However, this restriction was lifted after Wyre secured funding from an undisclosed strategic partner. Despite this, the company still had to let go of 75 employees in January 2023. Wyre's announcement of shutting down operations marks the end of the company, which had explored various strategic options in an attempt to remain operational. The company had previously stated in January that it was facing financial difficulties.
“We sincerely appreciate the support and positive sentiments from our community as well as the crypto ecosystem at large as we pursue options that will enable Wyre to flourish. Our operations continue, and we will share information with the community as it is available.”
A Growing List Of Bear Market Casualties
Several crypto companies and blockchain firms have recently faced challenges due to the ongoing bear market. In May alone, a number of firms, such as BottlePay, Terressa, HotBit, and TradeBlock, had to shut down their operations. Additionally, EmpireDAO also ended its tenancy at 190 Bowery in New York, indicating a market downturn. The co-working space, which was founded by Mike Fraietta and exclusively serviced the crypto industry, was often compared to WeWork for Web3. Fraietta commented on the situation at the time.
“We tried every which way to get new sponsors, partnerships, and even crowdfunding. But we needed more help to sustain at 190 Bowery.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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