Troubled Crypto Lender Vauld May Be Acquired by Nexo

Singapore-based cryptocurrency lender Vauld may be acquired by major crypto lender Nexo (NEXO).

Vauld CEO Darshan Bathija made the announcement today, declaring that the exchange has signed “an indicative term sheet” with Nexo to purchase “up to 100% of Vauld.”

The CEO added that,

“The completion of this transaction is pending due diligence – which both teams are working on as we speak.”

Per Bathija, this move comes as the company is “working tirelessly to ensure [users’] financials are protected,” given that a lot of the “customers are nervous about” their funds.

He stated that,

“Vauld has strived to deliver long term value to all customers, and we believe coming under the Nexo umbrella will significantly help achieve this.”

Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev was quoted by the Block as stating that,

“We have to see what exactly is on their books and it’s going to take a little while. […] But since we have the [60-day] exclusive exploratory period, we are the only ones looking at them right now.”

The co-founder said that they are interested in Vauld because it has “huge traction in India and Southeast Asia, which are important markets to us.” Nexo is looking into whether they can restructure or refinance Vauld, Trenchev said, “so that it is functioning again, so that it is profitable within the Nexo umbrella.”

The Coinbase and other major investors-backed Vauld just yesterday announced that it had suspended all withdrawals, deposits, and trading citing “financial challenges” amid lingering sour market conditions.

Founded in 2018, Vauld is backed by the venture arm of Coinbase, CMT Digital, Pantera Capital, Gumi Cryptos, Valar Ventures, Compound Labs founder Robert Leshner, and Cadenza Capital. It is headquartered in Singapore with most of its employees based in India. In late June, Vauld announced a 30% layoff.

Meanwhile, back in mid-June, the UK-based Nexo acquired the assets of the troubled Celsius Network (CEL), but it apparently failed.