From $1.5B to $0, Crypto Payments Platform Wyre Shuts Down

Wyre will be terminating services in January after a failed acquisition with Bolt in September

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

Crypto payments and infrastructure provider company Wyre is shutting down, months after Bolt Financial scrapped a $1.5 billion deal to buy the firm.

Wyre was first founded in 2013 by Michael Dunworth and Ioannis Giannaros and had raised a total $29.1 million across nine rounds of funding, data from Crunchbase shows. Some of its investors include Pantera Capital, Stellar Development Foundation and Amphora Capital. 

Michael Staib, who previously worked as a technical engineer for Wyre, posted on his LinkedIn profile on Dec. 31, 2022, that, “Wyre won’t continue as a profitable business.”

Former employees told Axios that Giannaros had sent an email during the holiday season informing team members that Wyre would liquidate and terminate its offerings in January 2023. It is alleged that no severance will be provided to employees. 

Loading Tweet..

Giannaros has not replied to Blockworks’ request for comment.

Dunworth stepped down from Wyre and cashed out 12.5% of his holdings at the company soon after tech platform Bolt failed to acquire the company in September last year. 

According to Dunworth, crypto market volatility and general market conditions in tech had been one of the main reasons for the deal falling through. 

Fintech writer Noah Weidner suspects that the company may have experienced balance sheet issues as early as September.

“I sent an email to Wyre some months back asking about their Yield product — in large part because Wyre+Yield was used by a bunch of small CeDeFi and fintech apps,” he tweeted. “Their response insinuated Wyre+Yield had been closed for months, but some apps were still using it for their treasury.”

Wyre’s now-failed acquisition had been considered monumental, as the $1.5 billion valuation would have been one of the largest non-SPAC deals. The payments platform’s decision to shut down operations may signify the prolonged crypto winter ahead.


Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your email every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.


Want alpha sent directly to your inbox? Get degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, can’t-miss tweets and more from Blockworks Research’s Daily Debrief.


Can’t wait? Get our news the fastest way possible. Join us on Telegram and follow us on Google News.


Tags

upcoming event

MON - WED, MARCH 18 - 20, 2024

Digital Asset Summit (DAS) is returning March 2024. This year’s event will be held in our nation’s capital, where industry leaders, policymakers, and institutional experts will come together to discuss the latest developments and challenges in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. […]

upcoming event

MON - WED, SEPT. 11 - 13, 2023

2022 was a meme.Skeptics danced, believers believed.Eventually, newcomers turned away, drained of liquidity and hope.Now, the tide is shifting and it’s time to rebuild. Permissionless II is the brainchild of Blockworks and Bankless. It’s not just a conference, but a call […]

recent research

Sequencers: The Key to The Rollup Investment Thesis

Research

Sequencers are one of the most explicit mechanisms in crypto for creating sustainable DAO-controlled revenue.

/

article-image

A rough start to Tuesday for Coinbase — its stock tanked during premarket hours in response to a sweeping SEC lawsuit

article-image

The SEC takes on the two biggest players in crypto within 24 hours

article-image

The SEC just sued Binance over alleged securities violations — now, the agency is coming for top US crypto exchange Coinbase

article-image

Binance’s ability to handle large outflows is once again tested as the market reckons with a fresh set of SEC allegations

article-image

Cboe Digital has CFTC permission to provide clearing services for margin trade on crypto futures at a time when regulators are closing in

article-image

The former part owner of the Minnesota Vikings misled a number of banks to process hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit crypto transactions