Wyre provides infrastructure and cryptographic payments. It looks like they will stop doing business by the end of this month. The business, which will turn ten years old this year, had a massive April 2022 valuation of $1.5 billion.
Bolt Financial attempted to acquire the crypto payment platform last year. “A commercial agreement was made between the two companies to deploy Wyre’s one-click solution for the Bolt customer platform.” In September, the transaction collapsed.
Cash and stock had to be exchanged to complete the transaction. Investors, on the other hand, were worried about Bolt’s high valuation of $11 billion in the midst of a wider fintech selloff and growing doubts about the business model of “one-click checkout.”
So that they could each focus on what they were best at and give clients more value, the two parties decided to run separate businesses while still being partners.
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Partnership with Wyre
Wyre was conceptualized by Michael Dunworth and Loannis Giannaros. Based on the information we have, it was started in 2013 and has raised a total of $29.1 million over nine investment rounds. During its great run, it worked with well-known investors like Pantera Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, and Amphora Capital.
Michael Staib, a former Wyre technical engineer, wrote on his LinkedIn profile on December 31, 2022, that “Wyre won’t continue as a successful business.” Two former employees told Axios that Giannaros had sent an email during the holiday season notifying team members that Wyre would liquidate and end its offerings in January 2023. Employees will not receive a payout, according to reports.
Company officials have not confirmed the shutdown. Giannaros hasn’t responded to news outlets. In an email to Axios, Giannaros stated, “We’re still working but will be cutting back to consider our next steps.” After Bolt failed to purchase Wyre in September 2022, Dunworth left the company and got 12.5% of its shares.
The acquisition fell through due to crypto market volatility and tech market conditions, according to Dunworth. Noah Weidner, a fintech blogger, believes the company had balance sheet concerns in September.
He tweeted, “I sent an email to Wyre some months back asking about their Yield product, partly because Wyre+Yield was utilized by a bunch of small CeDeFi and finance apps.” Their statement made it sound like Wyre+Yield had been closed for months, but some apps were still using it as a bank.
Wyre’s unsuccessful acquisition was one of the largest non-SPAC deals at $1.5 billion. The payments platform’s closure may indicate a lengthy crypto winter. The market is clinging to a single lifeline, praying for strong resuscitation.
Terra and FTX collapsed in 2022, affecting the crypto sector. The market downturn and bitcoin crisis have shaken out several failing enterprises. Many crypto businesses laid off employees during the market collapse.
Despite the pessimistic spiral, investors expect a recovery. However, this recent update will destroy the dreams of many, while those who have given up on the market will be justified in moving on.
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