Qredo enters administration following partial acquisition by Dan Tapiero’s 10T and 1RT

Part of the struggling crypto custodian Qredo QRDO

-0.67%
has gone into receivership following its partial takeover by 10T Holdings and 1RoundTable Partners, growth equity firms led by veteran investor Dan Tapiero.

10T and 1RT said on Friday they have acquired “substantial” assets of Qredo through their new UK entity, Fusion Laboratories. The acquisition comes after the two companies led Qredo’s bridge financing round late last year and reorganized the company, they said — confirming The Block’s earlier reporting.

As part of the deal, 10T and 1RT will relaunch Qredo’s acquired assets through Fusion Labs – focused solely on Fusionchain, an upgraded version of Qredo Network on Cosmos. The QRDO token will move to the Cosmos ecosystem with the launch of Fusionchain.

“The token migration will increase utility under renewed tokenomics,” 10T and 1RT said. “Additional information regarding Fusionchain’s launch, token migration, tokenomics, and strategic plans for Fusion Labs will be communicated in the near future.”

Qredo placed under administration

Qredo appointed Ian James Corfield and Philip David Reynolds of FRP Advisory as joint managers on February 1.

Business administration is a process aimed at rescuing troubled business segments or maximizing returns to creditors before dissolution. An insolvency practitioner takes over management of the company during administration.

Qredo’s joint administrators will communicate with the company’s suppliers, creditors and employees in the coming days about the next steps, 10T and 1RT said.

In the meantime, the Qredo Custody platform will remain “fully operational” until further notice, meaning customers will not be affected by these changes for the time being, a Qredo spokesperson said.

Qredo is firing more people

Qredo has cut another 44 jobs, halted salary payments and transferred the remaining 23 employees to Fusion Labs, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Block.

A spokesperson for Fusion Labs confirmed that 23 people were brought from Qredo to Fusion Labs. However, they did not want to say anything about the number of dismissed employees at Qredo.

“Given that the company is no longer in a position to make payments for services provided to you under your contracts, you should treat your service as terminated with immediate effect,” Qredo CEO Duncan Payne-Shelley wrote today the team in an email obtained. from Het Blok.

“Please note that any amounts outstanding at the date of the appointment of the administrator will be a claim against the company. The administrators will write to you and any other known creditors of the company with details of how to pursue your claim in due course submit.” added Payne-Shelley, who has now moved to Fusion Labs as CFO.

Payne-Shelley did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.

Fusion Labs has a new CEO and board

Randy Little, a partner of 10T and 1RT, has been appointed as the new CEO of Fusion Labs.

Little, in addition to Payne-Shelley, moved Qredo’s chief technology officer, Jason Losh, its chief cryptographer, Kealan McCusker, and several other Qredo employees to Fusion Labs.

A number of former Qredo employees — including former chief operating officer Josh Goodbody and former vice president of marketing and operations Luis Vaello — have moved on to the QRDO Foundation, as The Block previously reported. Fusion Labs and Warden Protocol will both play important roles in the QRDO ecosystem, which is led by the QRDO Foundation, Vaello told The Block.

“The QRDO Foundation is excited about the acquisition of Qredo Ltd by Fusion Labs, which effectively addresses any previous concerns in the community,” said Vaello. “This week’s announcement of the Warden Protocol and Fusionchain’s continued support for the QRDO token highlights an optimistic future. We are entering an exciting era of growth and innovation for the QRDO community,” he added.

Tapiero will now serve as chairman of Fusion’s board of directors, along with Little, Tad Smith, a 10T and 1RT partner, and two unnamed independent directors.

The block extensively reported for months about Qredo’s problems and 10T’s rescue efforts. Today’s news officially confirms the company’s troubles and reveals 10T and 1RT’s role in its rescue.