Australian Crypto ‘Super App’ Canned Along With $2.2B Merger

Australian investment platform Superhero and crypto exchange Swyftx have terminated a billion-dollar merger that would have created the country’s first digital assets “super app.”

Swyftx will sell Superhero back to its co-founders, John Winters and Wayne Baskin, alongside investors who had backed the app two years ago.

A tightening regulatory environment at home is being blamed for the demerger. Swyftx only one month ago insisted its deal with Superhero, struck in June, would forge ahead unabated.

At the time, Swyftx sought to raise fresh capital to assist its integration with Superhero, which had yet to materialize due to “customer service concerns,” Australian Financial Review reported earlier this week.

The merger’s valuation — 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($2.2 billion) — had been based on various business fundamentals including past revenue and forecast revenue, signed off by both company boards.

The canceled deal comes amid a sensitive time for the crypto industry worldwide, wrecked by alleged fraud at FTX, the latest in a string of scandalous blowups.

To prepare for a prolonged crypto winter, Swyftx axed some 90 employees at the beginning of the month, following up an initial cut of 74 staff in late August.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Swyftx told Blockworks that despite the layoffs the exchange had “no issues” with liquidity and was not at risk of insolvency.

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