According To reports, a crypto payments firm Wyre may be winding down its operations. The rumors of the apparent liquidation come after the cancellation of the firm’s planned acquisition by Bolt in September. However, Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros told Axios the firm is “still operating” and is simply scaling down.
Crypto Payments Firm Wyre Scaling Down Amid Reports Of Closure, CEO Refutes Liquidation
On January 4, 2021, Axios published a report claiming that Wyre, a digital currency payment platform, is closing down its operations. Former employees and associates supplied other reports about the matter. JD Ross, the founder of the music investment platform Royal.io, stated:
Looks like Wyre just went out of business. Everyone in our shared Slack except for the GC’s channel is disabled. Hearing without severance.
“We will continue to do everything we can, but I want everyone to prepare for the fact that we will have to wind down the business for the next two weeks,” Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros wrote in an email to staff, according to Axios. Reporters Brady Dale and Lucinda Shen detailed that former Wyre employee Michael Staib described the situation on LinkedIn.
Wyre was considered to be a profitable venture, having raised $29.1 million through nine funding rounds. The company was founded in 2013 by Giannaros and Michael Dunworth. At its peak, Wyre was valued at $1.5 billion and was supposed to be acquired by payments company Bolt. The deal was canceled in September, shortly after which Dunworth resigned from Wyre.
At the time, Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla said: “We will continue our existing business partnership with Wyre to pave the way for crypto integration into our ecosystem, bringing Wyre’s innovative crypto infrastructure to the world.” In an email sent to Axios, Giannaros did not comment on liquidation.
We are still in operation, but we will reduce our staff to make room for the next steps.
What do you think about the news? Wyre’s CEO claims they are winding down operations, but denies they are going out of business? Let us know your thoughts on the topic by leaving comments below.
