Singapore-based crypto savings platform Hodlnaut is the next domino to fall victim to the ongoing crisis. At least the platform has now also stopped all withdrawals and deposits due to the threat of insolvency.
As can be seen from an official announcement today, August 8, Hodlnaut points to the critical market situation as the driving force for this step. According to its own information, the company is already working on a recovery plan.
Dear users, we regret to inform you that we will be holding withdrawals, token swaps and deposits immediately due to recent market conditions. We have also withdrawn our MAS licence application. Here is our full statement https://t.co/5KfHUBzWsn Our next update will be on 19 Aug.
– Hodlnaut (@hodlnautdotcom) August 8, 2022
Due to these circumstances, the company is also withdrawing its requested approval from the Financial Services Authority of Singapore (MAS), which is why token swaps are also no longer possible.
The official announcement states:
“We are already working on a recovery plan and hope that we can give an update as soon as possible. […] First of all, we consult with our partners about the feasibility and the course of our plan, whereby we act in the best interests of our customers.“
In the course of this, the platform is now also temporarily suspending all its activities on social media, only Twitter and Telegram will continue to communicate.
The domino effect in the crypto industry began with the infamous collapse of the blockchain project Terra (LUNA), which was followed by the bankruptcy of the influential crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Subsequently, several important dominoes – which had connections to at least one of the two – have faltered and fallen, including big names such as Voyager Digital, Celsius and Blockchain.com .
Although Hodlnaut had no connections to 3AC, some users are now angry that the company was not fully transparent about the investments in the failed Terra stablecoin UST. The crypto influencer Fatman had already pointed out in June that the savings platform had been caught cold by the collapse of the UST on the one hand, but on the other hand had played with the fire for far too long to be able to talk freely of any guilt.
They sold some UST as low as $0.40, had huge, risky shorts on exchanges in the best case scenario, and in a hilarious move of brave defiance, they even re-entered Anchor after the collapse (small size). https://t.co/yfbTET4U4n (15/25)
– FatMan (@FatManTerra) June 26, 2022
Hodlnaut Managing Director Juntao Zhu denies that his company was ever invested in the VAT, but cannot provide any evidence for this claim.
For the crypto community, the withdrawal stop of the savings platform is the next logical consequence of the cascade on the crypto market and at the same time another warning example why investors should not store their funds on centralized platforms.
Another one bites the dust. Now that many of the largest players have gone under, which ones are next? If you still have assets with third parties, you should withdraw them to your own wallet ASAP. Not your keys, not your crypto. https://t.co/mY85yBhNbg
– Soldman Gachs ⌐◨-◨ (@DrSoldmanGachs) August 8, 2022
