Wyre announces wind-down of operations

The American cryptocurrency payments company Wyre announced its closure after ten years of operation, citing difficult conditions in the bear market.

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 (@sendwyre) June 16, 2023

According to the statement, the firm made “a difficult decision to protect the key stakeholders and customers.”

Users will be able to withdraw funds from the platform unhindered until July 14. After that date, a special settlement process will commence.

The Wyre team also noted that the service’s assets are up for sale. 88 Partners will review bids.

The platform was on the verge of bankruptcy after fintech company Bolt terminated the takeover agreement for $1.5 billion in September 2022.

On January 7, 2023 Wyre limited withdrawals by imposing a cap of 90% of the deposit. According to media reports, co-founder and CEO Ioannis Giannaros warned employees of possible shutdown of the business. Later the company reversed the restrictions, saying it had funding from an unnamed “strategic partner”.

In June, the investment bank Cowen announced the closure of its crypto unit, a year after its launch.

In the same month Banq, the payments subsidiary of crypto custodian Prime Trust, filed for bankruptcy. The firm reported assets of about $17.7 million against total liabilities of about $5.45 million.