Wyre, a crypto payments company based in San Francisco, is closing after almost a decade in business, citing financial difficulties due to the bear market rather than harsh “regulatory agency direction” in the United States.
The crypto payment platform has grown in prominence in recent years and is renowned for its user-friendly interface and extensive range of cryptos. The exchange had established a reputation for having robust security protocols and a dedication to client happiness. Nevertheless, despite these advantages, it ultimately lost out to the market’s unrelenting downward trajectory.
Wyre sells assets as operations wind down
In a blog post published on June 16, the company explained that it had made the tough decision to shut down to “protect the best interest of our key stakeholders and customers.”
Bear market conditions force crypto payments company Wyre to shut down, exposing a gap in the industry’s push for mass adoption and underscoring the need for industry-wide resilience and new approaches.
Experts in the field hypothesize that the payment company’s operations and profitability suffered due to the bear market. Due to the drop in activity, Wyre’s income and competitive capacity significantly suffered.
Wyre is still protecting consumer valuables. One can still withdraw whatever assets you have on the payment platform through the dashboard until Friday, July 14. After that, the company will have a different procedure to reclaim holdings on the platform.
Wyre allows prospective purchasers to explore Its assets
The Wyre team also hinted that the company was selling its assets, saying, “If you’re interested in acquiring Wyre’s or its subsidiaries’ assets, please reach out to 88 Partners.” Since one-click shopping cart business Bolt abandoned its September 2022 plan to acquire Wyre for $1.5 billion, the company has been circling the drain.
After reports of “uncertainty” surrounding its custodial partner the payment platform surfaced on January 4, 2023, fiat-to-crypto on-ramp solution provider Juno advised its consumers to move their crypto assets out of the Juno platform and into self-custody.
For the same reason, MetaMask discontinued its support for Wyre’s crypto payment services the next day. The loss of Wyre, which was helping to pave the way for the widespread use of digital currencies, is a significant blow to the industry as a whole.
The demise of Wyre is a sobering reminder that the crypto sector, like any other, must endure setbacks and adjust to shifting market conditions or perish.
The sudden closure of the payment platform has placed a brief pall over the crypto payments business. Still, many analysts are confident that the sector’s innate potential and resolve will soon lead to the development of new and better platforms.
A few days later, on January 10, Wyre set a 90% withdrawal limit for all its users. Still, on January 13, having secured finance from an undisclosed “strategic partner,” it swiftly lifted the 90% limitation, suggesting the company was on the mend.
The closure of the payment platform highlights the significance of flexibility and fortitude in the digital currency sector. Companies need the ability to quickly adapt to shifting market conditions to succeed. Some markets have weathered the storm by expanding their product lines or developing novel methods, while others have yet to be as successful.
According to reports, 75 people let off from the platform in January. As a result of the prolonged bear market, Wyre joins a growing list of crypto and blockchain companies and projects that have folded.
Unbanked, a crypto fintech company, BottlePay, a Lightning Network payments platform. HotBit, a platform for nonfungible tokens, and TradeBlock, an institutional trading platform from Digital Currency Group, all went out of business in May.
Even as the dust settles from Wyre’s closure, the crypto sector remains uncharted territory. Industry participants have to digest the lessons this misfortune has taught them and rethink their approaches in light of the dynamic nature of the market. The unfortunate demise of the payment platform is a reminder that not even the longest-running companies can escape the dynamics that shape the crypto ecosystem.
