Crypto wallet Okto launches a $5-million treasury fund to help Vauld users

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CoinDCX’s crypto wallet Okto announced that it has pledged $5 million treasury fund to bail out troubled crypto lending platform Vauld’s users, while also offerings 2 percent bonus to them to transfer their fund to Okto.

Following its bankruptcy proceedings and shutting down of operations last year, as of October 2023, Vauld’s directors Darshan Bathija and Sanju Sony Kurian have stepped down and a new board was appointed. Indian creditors whose funds were stuck, have a deadline till October 16 to withdraw their funds.

Now, through this fund and additional support, Okto wants to offer Self-Custody Assurance to Vauld’s users, prioritising their control over their assets. Users will have complete ownership of their private keys and thus their funds.

"While this $5-million fund represents one of our initiatives to support the crypto ecosystem, our overarching vision is to empower the Web3 community through cutting-edge technology-backed platforms and apps designed to tackle the broader challenges within the ecosystem. The concept of self-custody is revolutionary as it grants complete ownership of assets to the users,” Neeraj Khandelwal, founder of Okto, said.

“Okto was founded with a clear mission: to address the intricate balance between security, convenience, and custody, ultimately resolving the crypto wallet trilemma. Okto's enduring mission has been to provide users with a secure and user-friendly app, and we will persistently strive to achieve this objective," he added.

Okto was launched last year as a keyless, self-custody Web3 wallet that provides secure access to DeFi services, ensuring the safety of users' funds. Okto is backed by Steadview, BCap, Coinbase Ventures, Pantera, Bain Capital Ventures among others.

Vauld has assets worth around $330 million and liabilities worth $400 million. On August 13, 2022, the Enforcement Directorate had frozen the startup’s bank balances, payment gateway balances, and crypto balances worth Rs 370 crore for allegedly assisting predatory lending apps.