As recently as March 2022, Binance announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based Eqonex Group and granted a $36 million convertible loan. In February, Eqonex had reportedly become the first crypto company to receive a listing on NASDAQ via a SPAC construction. Eqonex also has an FCA-registrated custody arm, Digivault Limited. It looked like a promising partner for Binance. Now the group seems to be a victim of crypto contagion. Binance has stopped funding it.
The November collapse of the FTX triggered what Eqonex later described as a “sad inflection moment” in a letter to shareholders. The fifth tranche of the Binance loan was not made accessible to us due to technical breaches under the loan agreement. Crypto Contagion was in full motion. And Eqonex was dead.
Eqonex filed for judicial administration with the High Court of Singapore to restructure its debt and shield itself from third-party creditors. The company liquidated its Hong Kong subsidiaries Diginex and Eqonex Capital to raise funds to pay creditors. In the summer of 2022, Eqonex introduced its Eqonex Bitcoin ETN (EQ1B) and listed it on the Deutsche Börse. We learned today that EQ1B would undergo a mandatory redemption and delist from the Deutsche Boerse on 14 December after launching five months ago.
Eqonex closed its crypto exchange in August 2022 and recently announced its custody arm Digivault, which was the wallet provider for EQ1B, would wind down its operations by 7 December.
