The crypto currency business Wyre was riding high on the tech boom in April 2022, consented to be acquired for $1.5 billion, which put the company in an enviable position. The transaction would have resulted in a windfall of $267 million for one of the company's founders.
However, the transaction was withdrawn (1) from consideration in September.
On Friday, employees were given even worse news: they were informed through email that the company was virtually shut down and that nearly all of its employees would be terminated, as stated by a former employee who had intimate knowledge of the situation.
The CEO of Wyre, Ioannis Giannaros, said in an email that the firm is
"still operating but will be scaling back to plan our next steps."
According to the data provided by PitchBook, Wyre was established in 2013 in San Francisco. Since its inception, the company has raised more than $55 million from a diverse group of investors, most of whom are focused on crypto currency. These investors include Pantera Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Kraken, and Boost VC.
The most profitable offering for the company was a gateway for customers to purchase crypto currency. It enabled users of the widespread Ethereum wallet known as MetaMask to purchase crypto currencies using their credit cards.
According to the former worker, the business had a positive attitude about its future at this time last year. MoonPay, its primary competitor, had just completed a series A funding round that brought in $555 million, giving the business a valuation of $3.4 billion.
After the $1.5 billion purchase by one-click checkout startup Bolt fell through, Wyre explored for other white knights but ultimately rejected offers to acquire the company, according to another individual who worked for a company that sought to acquire Wyre.
After it, there was a significant amount of employee turnover and layoffs. According to the former worker, it was likely hard for Wyre to obtain new funds given the current climate around crypto currency fundraising, which was fuelled by the implosion of FTX and the dropping prices of crypto currencies.
Workers who posted on the Wyre shutdown forum
Companies that are having trouble staying afloat have been rumpled down due to the general market recession and the collapse of crypto currencies in 2022. The previous year was difficult for Wyre, resulting in staff reductions after the calendar year. Blind is a professional community of employees, and the inner circle has anonymously acknowledged (3) that staffing levels have been reduced there.
During an interview with Axios, two former Wyre employees confirmed the company's impending closure. According to one of them, the CEO of Wyre kept some of the staff informed during the holiday session by sending them emails. The email included details regarding the impending closure of Wyre's business operations and liquidation in January 2023.
Former workers stated that the corporation had not yet presented them with severance payouts following their termination from employment.
On LinkedIn, former employee Michael Staib, a technical engineer, sounded (4) the alarm about Wyre. Staib was one of several employees who were let go. In a recent message, he expressed his disapproval of Wyre's business, suggesting that the company will not be able to maintain a lucrative venture for much longer:
