Vauld’s Creditor Protection Extended to Feb. 28 by Singapore HC

The Singapore High Court extended Vauld’s legal protection from creditors to Feb. 28, providing the crypto lender with more time to develop a recovery plan. However, the extension is shorter than what Vauld requested as the crypto lending firm had sought protection until Apr. 21.

Vauld Has Less Time Than it Wanted to Design a Recovery Plan

Crypto lender Vauld received an extension from the Singapore court to its legal protection from creditors to Feb. 28. While the extension is shorter than anticipated, it gives Vauld more time to fix its financial issues.

The company requested protection from creditors until Apr. 21, but the Singapore High Court gave Vauld only until the end of the following month to devise a revival plan. Vauld’s previous creditor protection expires on Jan. 20.

The move comes several months after Vauld froze customer withdrawals and hired a group of advisers to help the crypto lender explore restructuring options. Since then, Vauld has received offers from two crypto fund managers to take over management of the digital tokens frozen on its platform, according to an affidavit obtained by the Block. The crypto lender told the court that its talks with the fund managers are in the late stages.

The company is also having a dispute with Nexo Capital, a UK-based crypto lender attempting to acquire Vauld. The clash between two rivals emerged after Vauld, and its committee of creditors had rejected a “final” takeover bid from Nexo due to concerns about its financial situation.

In response, Nexo argued that Vauld boss Darshan Bathija does not act in the best interest of the company’s creditors. Nexo’s office in Bulgaria was raided last week by local prosecutors due to alleged money laundering and tax crimes.

Join our Telegram group and never miss a breaking digital asset story.

Vauld Owes Creditors Over $400M

Vauld owes more than $400 million to its creditors since unexpectedly halting withdrawals in July 2022. 90% of that amount, or $363 million, comes from individual retail investors’ deposits.

According to the legal documents, the crypto lender owes $125 million to its 20 biggest unsecured creditors, nearly all of whom are individuals. The documents showed Vauld owes more than $10 million to three creditors each, while the most significant creditor is owed $34 million.

Vauld’s withdrawal halt came in the wake of the market crash last year, which exposed shortcomings in several crypto projects and businesses. The downturn was exacerbated following the collapse of TerraUSD and LUNA, which had a domino effect, sending the likes of Voyager Digital and Three Arrows Capital (3AC) into bankruptcy.

What kind of a revival plan do you think Vauld will come up with until the end of February? Let us know in the comments below.