- Juno, a fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramp, alerts its users to pull out all crypto assets due to uncertainty about its crypto partner, which is its official crypto custodian.
- Juno encourages its users to self-custody as it increases the daily withdrawal limits of metal account holders.
- Wyre, a crypto payments firm, announces its plans in an email to its employees that it will shut down.
The crypto industry has been on edge since the realization of the bearish market. Many firms, start-ups, traders, and investors in the industry lost a lot of funds and savings due to the crypto winter. Although there is hope that 2023 will record a bullish year for the Web3 space, the crypto winter still lingers, which has kept the industry on edge.
Since the crash of FTX, one of the most significant and most shocking incidents in 2022, which also took down over 100 crypto companies and firms along with it, crypto users and developers on Blockchain technology have been dealing in the industry with one foot in, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The same can be said for Juno, a fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramp solution provider. In a January 4 tweet, the firm alerted its users to self-custody or sell all their crypto assets on its platform due to uncertainty of its partner, Wyre, a crypto custodian. The company itself does not hold crypto assets but relies on its partner.
“Juno as a platform doesn’t want custody of crypto assets and relies on our crypto partner for these services. Due to uncertainty with our crypto partner, we have taken preemptive action in the interest of our customers,” Juno expressed on Twitter.
Although the crypto custodian partner in question remained anonymous in Juno’s tweet, it is understood that Wyre, a bridge for fintech firms and projects between the fiat industry and the blockchain ecosystem, was the partner being mentioned. Wyre, a firm once valued at $1.5 billion, announced to its users this week that it would be shutting down.
Juno Acts In Response To Wyre Shutting Down
In fear of what would happen and how it would affect the on/off-ramp, Juno has been persistent with its messages, alerting its users to withdraw their funds on its platform. The fiat-to-crypto firm has increased the daily withdrawal limit fivefold for its “metal” account holders, urging every user to sell or self-custody their crypto assets.
As part of the “preemptive action” taken, Juno also temporarily restricted the purchase of cryptocurrencies on its platform and automatically converted the stablecoins into USD in their customers’ FDIC- insured accounts to further encourage them to pull out their assets.
“We have temporarily disabled crypto buts on our platform and auto-converted stablecoins (USDC, USDT, mUSDC) to USD in their FDIC-insured checking account,” the tweet reads.
In its thread, the America-based fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramp mentioned that since it began alerting its users about pulling out their assets, it still has about $1.25 million hence, and it is “actively reaching out to customers.”
Additionally, the firm notified its users that services unrelating to crypto were unaffected and would carry on with its operations as usual. Reminding its customers that it had taken a community-first approach towards carrying out a preemptive action was done with the customers’ interests in mind.
Fortunately, customers of Juno have made no complaints about being unable to withdraw all their funds or experiencing any issues when withdrawing. Juno, however, mentioned that it was transitioning to a new crypto partner, although details about this partner or when this transition will be done needed to be communicated to its users.
Is Wyre Shutting Down?
Wyre, a crypto payments firm, announced to its employees that it would shut down due to its inability to hold its head above water in the bearish market. According to Axios, an American news website, the CEO of Wyre, Ioannis Giannaros, sent out emails to his employees, alerting them of the looming closure of the company.
“We’ll continue to do everything we can, but I want everyone to brace themselves for the fact that we will need to unwind the business over the next couple of weeks,” the email reads.
Although, employees are wondering if the company would include a severance package as they are yet to be informed about getting one upon its closure.
In an email conversation with Axios, Ioannis Giannaros told Axios that it would continue operations but was “scaling back.”
Conclusion
In its bid to be transparent, Juno took to Twitter to alert its users to withdraw all their crypto assets and either self-custody or sell them. This message was sent in due to the uncertainty of its partner, Wyre, suddenly shutting down.
