Add another casualty to the crypto contagion pile. Crypto firm Wyre is said to be shutting down, according to multiple reports.
Earlier this week, Axios reported that the collapse of the deal by Bolt to acquire Wyre was the final nail in the coffin.
Industry insider Scott Purcell distributed an email claiming the rumor was Wyre was using customer money for lending, staking, etc. He added that you should never have any assets held by a firm that operates as a money transmitter.
In April 2022, Bolt announced its intent to acquire Wire described as a “groundbreaking cryptocurrency infrastructure provider.” Bolt sought to integrate Wyre’s fiat-to-crypto and payment infrastructure within its platform. Bolt said that “tens of millions of shoppers in Bolt’s network” would be able to easily access a multitude of cryptocurrencies, fiat exchanges, and compliance solutions following the acquisition. The deal, valued at around $1.5 billion, collapsed in September.
Axios cited an email distributed to Wyre employees by CEO Ioannis Giannaros to “brace themselves” as they will need to unwind the firm in the next couple of weeks. In a separate email, Giannaros told Axios they are still operating but were scaling back while planning their next steps.
Otherwise, Wyre has been relatively quiet bout the gloomy news and social media channels void of responses. Wyre is based in San Francisco an holds multiple money transmitter licenses, which may have some value.