Vauld
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 18 → 41. Problems weighed by who is responsible: concerns that are not fraud −16, the subject's own conduct −15, incidents the subject suffered −10, problems around the subject, caused by others −2.6; legitimacy credit long-running +10. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| The subject's own conduct | -15 |
| Concerns that are not fraud | -16 |
| Incidents it suffered (e.g. hacks) | -10 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -2.6 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 31 |
Score: 41/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Vauld was a Singapore-headquartered crypto lending and exchange platform founded in 2018 by Darshan Bathija and Sanju Kurian, backed by Coinbase Ventures, Valar Ventures (Peter Thiel), and Pantera Capital. On July 4, 2022, Vauld suspended all withdrawals, deposits, and trading after disclosing a $70 million asset deficit, freezing approximately $330 million in customer funds belonging to roughly 150,000 retail creditors. Following the collapse of an attempted acquisition by Nexo, Vauld's Singapore parent entity DeFi Payments Pte Ltd successfully completed a court-sanctioned Scheme of Arrangement in August 2023 projecting recoveries of up to 93% on unsecured creditor claims.
Connected Entities
8 entities · 60 linked investigations- Coinbase→mentioned with→Bitcoin(65%)
- Three Arrows Capital→mentioned with→Terra/Luna(75%)
- Terra/Luna→mentioned with→Three Arrows Capital(80%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→Three Arrows Capital(80%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→Bitcoin(60%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→FTX(70%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→WazirX(60%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→Coinbase(70%)
- FTX→mentioned with→Bitcoin(70%)
- Vauld→mentioned with→Terra/Luna(60%)
- + 3 more
Timeline(19 events)
2018
Darshan Bathija and Sanju Kurian found 'The Bank of HODLers' in Singapore, later renamed Vauld.
Inc42 / StartupTalkyJuly 2021
Vauld raises $25 million Series A led by Valar Ventures, with participation from Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures.
Bitcoin Insider / Inc42April 2022
India introduces a 30% tax on crypto gains, materially reducing Vauld's domestic trading volumes and fee income.
Inc42 feature9 May 2022
TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin collapses, triggering a market-wide liquidity crisis and losses across Vauld's portfolio.
ZD Visor case study12 June 2022
Customer withdrawal acceleration begins; Vauld will see approximately $198 million withdrawn before suspension.
TechCrunch16 June 2022
CEO Darshan Bathija publicly assures customers Vauld has no exposure to Celsius or Three Arrows Capital; the claim is later contradicted by court affidavits.
Inc42 feature4 July 2022
Vauld suspends all withdrawals, deposits, and trading with immediate effect.
TechCrunch / CNBC / CoinDesk5 July 2022
Nexo signs a term sheet with Vauld granting a 60-day exclusive due diligence period for a potential acquisition.
BeInCrypto / The Block8 July 2022
DeFi Payments Pte Ltd (Vauld's Singapore parent) files for a moratorium under Section 64 of Singapore's Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.
BeInCrypto11 July 2022
Vauld issues a letter to creditors disclosing a $70 million asset deficit: $330 million in assets against $400 million in liabilities.
The BlockAugust 2022
India's Enforcement Directorate freezes approximately Rs. 370 crore (~$46 million) in assets linked to Vauld's Indian operating entity in connection with a money laundering investigation.
NewsLocker / Varindia / SiasatNovember 2022
Vauld discloses approximately $10 million in assets frozen on the collapsed FTX exchange.
The BlockNovember 2022
The Block reports Amber Group (identified as 'Counterparty 1') owes approximately $130 million to Vauld's CEO Bathija, who had placed Vauld funds in his personal name.
The BlockDecember 2022
Vauld rejects Nexo's final acquisition proposal, citing lack of due diligence transparency, Nexo's US exit, and absence of an early-exit RDA mechanism for creditors.
Finance Magnates / CoinGeek2023
Nexo formally terminates the Vauld acquisition deal, ending approximately six months of negotiations.
The Block17 January 2023
Singapore High Court grants Vauld an extended creditor protection period following the Nexo deal collapse.
Bloomberg10 August 2023
Singapore High Court sanctions Vauld's Scheme of Arrangement under Section 210 of the Companies Act, receiving more than 90% creditor support.
Kroll16 August 2023
Vauld's Scheme of Arrangement becomes effective. First distributions of 36% of unsecured claims scheduled for October 2023.
Vauld Help CenterDecision Log
- slot 455361226 · hash EQAKjnDMLYumLh8pdBHZ6joNMMA72cZLEP4j7RneSC42
- slot 423160840 · hash FipJ9Q4dLJdFbzfhZ6peC7kwAX9CzizKwMx9aJ2FF4f7
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (2 decisions). 14 of 20 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-5
generated: 5/30/2026, 12:57:33 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:41:54 PM
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