Nexo to take 30 more days to decide on its potential Vauld acquisition

Quick Take

  • Crypto lender Nexo will take one more month to decide on its potential Vauld acquisition, according to an email obtained by The Block. 
  • Vauld users will now have to wait until early October to hear from Nexo. 

Crypto lender Nexo will take a further month to decide on its potential acquisition of Vauld, an embattled rival, according to an email obtained by The Block.

The email, sent by Vauld to its customers on Tuesday, reads that "the 60-day exclusivity period previously agreed with Nexo to conduct due diligence in relation to the potential acquisition has been extended for a period of a further 30 days from today. This is because more time is required for the due diligence process."

Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev confirmed the extension to The Block when contacted. Vauld did not respond to The Block's request for comment.

Nexo started conducting due diligence on Vauld on July 5 and had until September 5 to make its decision. The extension means no decision will be announced until the first week of October at the earliest.

Vauld halted client withdrawals on July 4 as it fought to stave off insolvency. The firm owes a total of $402 million to creditors, as The Block reported at the time. Of that sum, $363 million — or 90% — comes from individual retail investors' deposits.

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To add to its problems, last month, India's Enforcement Directorate (ED), a law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes, froze Vauld's assets worth around $46 million. One of its clients was involved in a money laundering case, according to ED.

While Nexo has until early October to announce its decision, Vauld itself has until November 7 to decide its path forward, having received three months from the Singapore High Court in August to continue exploring its options. After that date, Vauld could be forced into liquidation unless the court grants another extension.

If the Nexo deal doesn't happen, Vauld has said it has other plans, including raising more capital, waiting for some of its deployed money to be returned, converting debt to equity and issuing its own token.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.