Wyre limits user withdrawals amid claims of pending shutdown

Digital asset payments platform Wyre has announced a withdrawal limit for its users as it struggles with the bear market.

In a January 7 update, the San Francisco-based company announced that it would limit withdrawals to no more than 90% of available funds, subject to existing daily limits.

We are modifying our withdrawal policy. While customers will continue to be able to withdraw their funds, at this time, we are limiting withdrawals to no more than 90% of the funds currently in each customer account, subject to current daily limits.

— Wyre (@sendwyre) January 7, 2023

The company added that the limit is in the best interest of its customers. It also claimed to be “exploring strategic options for our company that will enable us to navigate the current market environment and deliver on our mission to simplify and revolutionize the global payments ecosystem.”

Wyre has been a major player in the digital asset payments industry and was once valued at $1.5 billion. However, the bear market has dealt a big blow to the company, drastically cutting down the volume of payments it processes.

In addition to the withdrawal limit, the company also announced leadership changes that will see its former CEO, Ioannis Giannaros, transition to a new role as the firm’s executive chairman. In the new role, he will continue to “provide valuable guidance and support to Wyre.”

Giannaros will be replaced as CEO by Stephen Cheng, the former Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of Wyre.

“Our operations continue, and we will share information with the community as it is available,” the company added.

The new withdrawal limits come at a time when sources at the company claimed that the company is heading for a shutdown. Speaking to Axios, employees at the company claimed to have received an email from then-CEO Giannaros a week ago stating that the firm would be shutting down in the coming weeks.

Wyre was set to be acquired by e-commerce giant Bolt in 2022, but the talks collapsed towards the end of the year. The two companies, however, entered into an agreement under which the self-checkout firm integrated Wyre’s digital asset payment services.

Wyre is also losing its partners, with Ethereum wallet MetaMask announcing last week that it had removed Wyre from its mobile aggregator. Juno, a digital asset bank, also called on its clients to either self-custody their assets or sell them for cash as it strives to end its custody partnership with Wyre.

“We are switching custodians because we expect potential issues with Wyre given they might be scaling back or winding down,” CEO Varun Deshpande told one outlet.

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