‘Hodlnaut’ Faces Singapore Police Action and Job Losses

Troubled crypto lender Hodlnaut has announced massive layoffs and pending police proceedings in a blog post that underscores its dire financial and legal situation as it becomes the latest crypto firm to halt customer withdrawals.

The Singapore-based lender has laid off 40 employees in an effort to reduce its costs and has admitted it is subject to action being taken by the Singapore Attorney-General and the Singapore Police Force.

Hodlnaut Cuts 80% of Staff, Interest Rate to Zero

After pausing withdrawals earlier this month, Hodlnaut filed for creditor protection in Singapore seeking time to resolve its liquidity issues. In addition to cutting 80 percent of its staff, the company also slashed annual interest rates to 0 percent in an attempt to “stabilise liquidity”. The company’s founders remain in Singapore and are said to be “working hard on a recovery plan”. They added:

The current team we have retained are, in our assessment, [the] necessary headcount in order for us to carry out key functions.

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Hodlnaut blog post

Hodlnaut joins fellow lender Vauld and Asia Pacific crypto exchange Zipmex in an unholy trinity of Singapore-based crypto firms facing liquidity crises. Hodlnaut also applied to be placed under judicial management earlier this month. If successful, the move will hand “ultimate decision-making power on all aspects of the company going forward” to the judicial manager – an independent third party that oversees the process.