Vauld - How Does This Crypto Lending Startup Make Money?

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If we talk about investments, assets such as gold, bank deposits, buying of lands, real estate, and the stock market come to our mind. It has been a while, and a new form of investment is drawing attention in the market today - cryptocurrency.

This latest type of investment sometimes referred to as crypto-currency or crypto, is a form of digital currency that is backed by a technology called 'blockchain' that allows users to exist outside the controls of the government and other central authorities. Over the years, the world seems to have a knack for this, particularly bitcoins, which is boasting 14 million value of bitcoins in circulation.

'Crypto' generally means virtual currencies that are secured by cryptographic systems. These systems allow users to make payments securely without the help of any third-party intermediary.

Today, many investors are speculating about the possible outcomes of cryptocurrency in the current market. They are assuming that the use of crypto is likely to continue until a certain level of pricing stability and market acceptance is attained from the government and bank sectors.

The government and banks' recklessness in changing monetary policies at any time and any moment made many taxpayers suffer. No matter how irresponsible the government and bank sectors can be, it is always the taxpayer who has to pay for them. This way, the concept of cryptocurrency was introduced with the intent to change the financial infrastructure.

This is where the company Vauld comes into the scene. Founded in 2018, Vauld is a crypto-lending startup that was built to offer banking solutions to its customers through blockchain technology. To have a full understanding of Vauld, read this article to know about its journey so far, its founders and team, its business model, revenue, and the challenges faced by them.

Vauld - About and How It Works
Vauld - Founders
Vauld - Mission and Vision
Vauld - Name, Tagline, and Logo
Vauld - Growth
Vauld - Business and Revenue Model
Vauld - Funding and investors
Vauld - Challenges Faced
Vauld - Competitors
Vauld - Future Plans

Vauld - Company Highlights

Vauld - About and How It Works

Vauld started with an aim to offer its services as a customer-centric banking solution leveraging blockchain. They intend to treat customers' cryptocurrencies as separate assets nullifying the need for the government's acceptance.

Vauld works in a way that when any customer deposits funds to their wallet, it goes into a centralised pool. From there, the funds are allocated to borrowers, which are maintained for withdrawals on the platform.

This allows the company to give interest to its users. The loans offered by Vauld to borrowers are totally-risk free. All these loans are over-collateralised, which are usually repaid to the users after 30 days.

Vauld also has a community where they encourage everyone to discuss about crypto. From feedback and ideas, a crypto circle to discuss topics related to crypto, developers to build a system using Vauld's APIs, to know everything about them under the news community.

Vauld - Founders

Darshan Bathija

Before starting his own company, Darshan Bathija worked in companies like TapChief(acquired by Unacademy) and Piramal Enterprises Limited. A graduate from BITS Pilani, Darshan founded Vauld in 2018 intending to decentralise money through blockchain. He is the co-founder and CEO of Vauld.

Sanju Sony Kurian

Sanju Sony Kurian holds a degree from the Cochin Institute of Science and Technology. Before becoming the co-founder and CTO of Vauld, Sanju worked as Technology Director in Kings Learning. He is passionate about engineering and loves to volunteer and give speeches.

Vauld - Mission and Vision

Vauld wants to execute its vision with one aim: that is by offering a holistic banking system.

The company wants to set an easy and convenient platform for its customers to spend money in the place of their choice on an efficient system.

The company's vision statement reads, "We aim to enable the core elements of banking to every crypto user. So that Vauld user would get: Store of Value, Easy Spending, Capital Growth, and Exchange."

Vauld - Name, Tagline, and Logo

Vauld's tagline says, "Earn. Borrow. Trade.

Vauld - Growth

Vauld was founded in 2018. In that year, Vauld used to be Boh (Bank of Holders) and came up with secure Bitcoin and Ethereum Wallets.

In 2019, the company introduced peer-to-peer lending and borrowing of funds. Later that year, the company had its major website revamp with an instant token swap, which led to instant buy and sell in INR.

In 2020, Boh was rebranded to Vauld and introduced Android and iOS apps. In 2021, the company raised $25 million in funds from Valar Ventures and Coinbase ventures.

Vauld - Business and Revenue Model

Vauld lets its users deposit funds in their centralised pool system. The funds which are allocated are lent out to borrowers with a certain interest amount. The loans are collateralised to an extent up to 150% and are usually repaid within 30 days.

Vauld stores the funds collected in their trusted exchange system called Binance to facilitate trades on their order books.

Vauld gives about 11.57% interest rates to its customers. The company boasts of having the best interest rates and trading fees in the industry today. They do not charge anything extra for every deposit a customer makes. Their entire process is based on transparency with no hidden charges.

Vauld - Funding and Investors

Vauld has raised funds of about $27.5 million. The company has a total of 20 investors.

Vauld - Challenges Faced

Quite recently, the crypto market saw a crash that had never been seen before. Reports suggest that this happened in May and June after the collapse of the group Terraform Lab's UST stablecoin and Three Arrows Capital defaulted their loans.

The aftermath of this crash has led the Co-founder of Vauld to halt their withdrawals, trading, and deposits by 30%. The decision has been made because of the economic slowdown and inconsistent marketing conditions.

Due to this uncertain circumstance, the company is currently facing financial difficulties, as a result, a lot of customers have withdrawn amounts exceeding over $197.7 million since the crash of the cryptocurrency market.

Moreover, the company has reduced its marketing expenses and executive compensation by 50% and paused every vendor engagement. However, the company claims to make specific arrangements for certain customers who need help with their collateralised loans if necessary.

Vauld - Competitors

The following are some of its competitors of Vauld:

• Bakkt
• Abra
• BabelFinance
• Amber Group
• WeAlwin Technologies
• Ramp network
• CoinDCX

Vauld - Future Plans

Although the company had planned to introduce cards and cross token payments, and bank accounts for the future. The current condition of the economy made them take a painful decision.

As of now, Vauld has suspended all its operations because of the unexpected crypto market crash. The company is currently having a difficult time, which is why it is challenging to know what the future holds for them.

FAQs

Is Vauld an Indian Company?

No, Vauld is a Singapore-based crypto platform founded by Darshan Bathija and Sanju Sony Kurian in 2018.

How does Vauld work?

When you deposit funds to your Vauld wallet it goes into a centralised pool. From there, the funds are allocated to borrowers, which are maintained for withdrawals on the platform.

Who are the founders of Vauld?

Vauld was founded by Darshan Bathija and Sanju Sony Kurian in 2018.