Crypto Payments Firm Wyre to Close its Doors After 10 Years in Business

Wyre cites market conditions as the reason for winding down operations and plans to keep withdrawals open until July 14th.

Crypto payments and infrastructure provider company Wyre has announced that it will be closing its doors after 10 years in business, just months after Bolt Financial cancelled a $1.5 billion deal to acquire the company.

Wyre stated on Friday evening that it will be winding down its operations due to market conditions. The company said in a statement that the decision was made to protect the interests of its customers and key stakeholders and was not due to any direction from regulatory agencies. "After nearly a decade, Wyre is winding down. Due to market conditions, we made this decision to protect the best interest of our key stakeholders and customers. This decision is not due to any regulatory agency direction," the firm said in the statement.

After nearly a decade, Wyre is winding down. Due to market conditions, we made this decision to protect the best interest of our key stakeholders and customers. This decision is not due to any regulatory agency direction. Wyre continues to secure customer assets.

— Wyre (@sendwyre) June 16, 2023

Wyre will continue to allow clients to withdraw their assets until July 14th, after which it will have a process in place to recover any remaining assets on the platform.

Wyre was founded in 2013 and has provided fiat-to-crypto infrastructure for companies operating in the cryptocurrency market. In April 2022, checkout and shopper network company Bolt was set to acquire Wyre in a deal that valued the company at $1.5 billion, making it one of the largest cryptocurrency deals ever announced. The companies had planned to “decentralize commerce” by combining their technologies to improve and simplify digital shopping.

However, in September, the deal was terminated, joining a number of other fintech deals that have fallen through, including those between UBS and Wealthfront and Galaxy Digital and BitGo. Wyre had previously raised nearly $30 million from investors such as the Stellar Development Foundation and crypto venture fund Pantera.