Fate of assets related to Vauld's India entity to be determined after hearing in February

Cryptocurrency exchange Vauld said that the hearing related to its Indian entity Flipvolt Technologies Pvt Ltd will take place in February.

Flipvolt, which saw its assets frozen by the Executive Directorate in August of 2022, was scheduled to have a hearing by the Appellate Adjudicating Authority related to the unfreezing of its assets on November 7, 2023. This has been adjourned to February this year, the company informed creditors in its first quarter update.

YourStory has seen a copy of this presentation.

"This hearing was adjourned to allow the Enforcement Directorate to file its responses to our appeal. We are establishing the next steps following the potential outcome of the February 2024 hearing," DeFi Payments, the parent of Vauld, said in its quarterly report.

It is uncertain of the timing and quantum of the recovery, it added.

Queries sent to Vauld remain unanswered at the time of publishing this article. It will be updated to reflect the company's responses.

DeFi Payments also confirmed that it is likely to receive some quantum of recoveries from FTX. However, the quantum of those recoveries also remains uncertain. Vauld is also looking into potentially establishing a new business separate from the exchange and increasing the level of repayments that can be made to creditors.

"No existing creditors will be put at risk and any deposits into this new business will likely be voluntary," the company said in the report. Based on initial creditor feedback and the board's expertise, the new business will likely be involved in the domain of Decentralised Finance (DeFi).

"Planning for the New Business is still in the very early stages–work effort and economic viability must be fully scoped before work can begin," Vauld said in the report.

Before bankruptcy, Vauld raised $25 million in a round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and counted the likes of Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, CMT Digital, Gumi Cryptos, Robert Leshner, and Cadenza Capital among its backers. 

Last October, YourStory was the first to report that the company's founders Darshan Bathija and Sanju Sony Kurian resigned from the firm. Nanda Gopal V, Jason Aleksander Kardachi, and Damir Butmir took charge of Vauld, effective September 27, 2023.

The beleaguered exchange also allowed Indian users to withdraw funds from the exchange last year, with some set to receive payments as early as October 16, 2023.