- Founded: 2013
- Ceased Operations: 2023
What did Wyre do?
Wyre was a leading infrastructure provider in the crypto space, offering a range of services to help individuals and businesses buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies. They recently launched a new dashboard that provided instant access to test API keys to start building, making it easier for developers to get started. Wyre also offered a checkout widget that performed a light KYC by default, making it a handy feature for those looking for something with a light touch. In addition, they had a list of trusted crypto wallet providers and offered an onboarding guide to help users get started with their services.
Wyre raised a total of $29.1 million in funding over 9 rounds. It was funded by 28 investors. FJ Labs and Samsung NEXT were the most recent investors. Bolt Financial Inc. announced in April 2022 that it would acquire Wyre for $1.5 billion. However, on September 9, 2022, Bolt Financial announced that it had scrapped the deal to buy Wyre.
Who started Wyre?
Founders Ioannis Giannaros and Michael Dunworth
Why did Wyre go out of business?
Wyre faced stiff competition from rival startups like NOW and MoonPay and had to keep fees low, which added to the startup’s costs. Credit card fraud also added to the company’s costs. The broad market downturn combined with the crash in cryptocurrency activity led to a shakeout among some struggling companies.
Wyre laid off 20% of its staff in June 2022. The company’s CEO, Ioannis Giannaros, informed some employees via email during the holiday season that the company would liquidate and planned to terminate services in January 2023.