Coin Lending Company Bold Suspends Withdrawals, Transactions, and Deposits... Announces Moratorium

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Bold, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency lending company invested in by Silicon Valley heavyweight investor Peter Thiel, has suspended withdrawals, trading, and deposits, and announced a moratorium (debt payment deferral). Concerns are mounting that a domino effect of bankruptcies due to the cryptocurrency crash is becoming a reality.

According to US economic media CNBC and others, Bold announced on its blog on the 4th (local time) that it would suspend withdrawals, trading, and deposits on its platform to prevent a coin run (cryptocurrency withdrawal demand) incident. This measure comes in response to a recent surge in customer withdrawal requests due to the sharp decline in the cryptocurrency market. Since the 12th of last month, customer withdrawals have reached a staggering $197.7 million (approximately 256.1 billion KRW).

Bold also confirmed that it is considering filing for a moratorium along with restructuring. The company stated, "We are facing financial challenges due to a combination of high market volatility and the financial deterioration of key business partners," adding, "We are consulting with potential investors while keeping all options open."

Bold was previously regarded as a promising company in the industry, having attracted large investments from Balan Ventures, founded by Peter Thiel, co-founder of Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, and PayPal.

The cryptocurrency crash, which began this year with the collapse of Korean coins TerraUSD and Luna, is now expanding into a domino liquidity crisis across the industry. Earlier this month, cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the federal court in Manhattan, New York. 3AC is known to have suffered significant losses from the Terra and Luna crash.

Following this, Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency exchange that had lent money to Three Arrows, also temporarily suspended coin trading, withdrawals, and deposits on the 1st. Cryptocurrency lending company Celsius also temporarily halted customer withdrawals last month citing market conditions. CNBC reported, "The market collapse has revealed numerous flaws in cryptocurrency projects and business models."