Crypto firm Juno urges users to withdraw after ‘uncertainty’ with custody partner

Juno recommended users pull their funds from the platform amid “uncertainty” over the fate of its crypto custody provider Wyre.

Fiat-to-crypto on-ramp solution provider Juno urged its users to sell or self-custody the crypto on its platform citing “uncertainty” with its crypto custodian partner Wyre.

In a Jan. 4 tweet, the platform explained it doesn't hold any of its customer’s crypto and relies on its “crypto partner” for those services.

“Due to uncertainty with our crypto partner, we have taken preemptive action in the interest of our customers,” it wrote, adding it’s also actively reaching out to customers to ask them to self-custody.

2/ Juno as a platform doesn’t custody crypto assets & relies on our crypto partner for these services.

Due to uncertainty with our crypto partner, we have taken preemptive action in the interest of our customers.

— Juno (@JunoFinanceHQ) January 4, 2023

The “crypto partner” in question is understood to be Wyre, a regulated money service business in the United States.

Earlier this week, Wyre CEO Ioannis Giannaros reportedly told employees via email the firm “will need to unwind [...] over the next couple of weeks.”

Giannaros told Axios thatWyre was “still operating” but would be “scaling back to plan our next steps.”

Juno said in its latest Twitter thread there was still $1.25 million worth of crypto assets held on the platform and it has been reaching out to customers to encourage them to self-custody their holdings.

Other safeguards employed by Juno for users include temporarily disabling crypto buying on its platform and converting stablecoins to U.S. dollars in users’ government-insured accounts “which are FDIC Insured up to $250,000 via our partner bank.”

It also increased daily withdrawal limits five-fold for all “metal” account holders, its highest tier account.

A Juno spokesperson told Cointelegraph it's "rapidly" working on selecting a new crypto custodian partner but "no partner has been chosen as of now."

"As soon as we select a crypto partner, we will start with the crypto deposits and buys," the spokesperson said.

Related: US federal agencies release joint statement on crypto asset risks and safe practices

Wyre did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

At the time of writing, Juno users were seemingly able to withdraw funds without issue and the platform claimed its services unrelated to crypto were similarly unaffected.

Update (Jan. 6, 1:00 AM UTC): Added response from Juno spokesperson.