Please think twice before giving away custody of your crypto assets
The CEO of DEFX, Darshan Bathija, previously founded Bank of Hodlers and Vauld (DeFi Payments Pte), both of which collapsed, leaving 150,000 creditors waiting over 2.5 years for the recovery of their assets. Despite this, clever maneuvering during the restructuring, with the involvement of Kroll, allowed Bathija to emerge relatively unscathed.
I am writing this review to warn prospective DEFX customers about the risks of entrusting assets to this platform. DEFX takes custody of your assets for trading and in liquidity pools—a structure similar to Vauld’s. Bathija’s track record raises significant concerns about the security of customer funds under his control.
In 2022, as the crypto market crashed, Vauld reportedly had sufficient reserves to meet creditor obligations. However, Bathija secretly withdrew $202 million in customer assets under multiple Non-Disclosure Agreements and lent them to a third party—a move that caused immediate insolvency and, for undisclosed reasons, led to the ongoing arbitration. This decision not only lacked transparency but also inflicted severe financial and emotional distress on creditors, myself included.
In my opinion, such actions demonstrate a troubling pattern of prioritizing personal or company interests over those of creditors and customers. With DEFX offering liquidity pools for crypto deposits, I worry about the fate of customer assets in light of this history.
I urge anyone considering DEFX to carefully weigh the risks of depositing funds under the control of an individual whose previous ventures have left creditors in financial limbo. Protect your assets and think twice before trusting this platform.
January 24, 2025
Unprompted review