Altura has announced a temporary freeze by a bank of the account holding cash intended for the final round of payouts from its stablecoin vault.
The yield-focused DeFi protocol wrote: "The situation is entirely out of our control, and we cannot take any further action until we receive an update from the bank," confirming the restriction is delaying the wind-down of its treasury bill operations that began in June.
What Happened, According to Altura?
Before the freeze, Altura had already prepared the final step—an over-the-counter (OTC) trade to swap the returned cash for $USDT, which would then be distributed to users. In a message to its followers, the team stated the funds were in an account at Altura Bank and were set to be sent to the OTC trading partner when access to the account was temporarily blocked.
Currently, over £16.4 million is frozen in the account while the bank conducts an internal review based on screenshots the protocol shared on the X network.
Altura reported that it has contacted the bank, and the bank has asked it to wait until the account review is complete.
Months of Wind-Down Preceding the Freeze
The restriction of access to the protocol's bank accounts comes at the very end of a process that has stretched throughout the summer. Altura decided to close its vault in June and has since been returning user funds as positions in underlying assets are settled.
On July 15, the team reported the return of $14.97 million, with $6.95 million still outstanding. About a week later, it stated that $1 million worth of trades remained undisclosed, with completion expected soon.
On July 23, CEO Ranvir Arora told users that the protocol had received full repayment from its real-world asset partners and that conversion on the OTC market was the next and final step. Earlier, on June 25, Altura noted that transfers to its bank account go through JPMorgan Chase and directed users to a new "Proof of Reserves" tab in its app to track progress.
What Prompted the Wind-Down Process?
The decision to wind down is linked to withdrawal hype. Over a 24-hour period in June, Altura processed over 8.5 million $USDT in instant withdrawals before Arora announced the gradual vault closure. He explained the move was due to "sustained withdrawal demand and current market sentiment."
Pressure arose concurrently with issues in other segments of the yield-bearing stablecoin market. The msUSD on Main Street traded below the dollar after its proof-of-reserves provider ceased cooperation, and this strain spread to protocols actively using withdrawals, such as Altura.
Altura stated it never held any assets related to Main Street or its strategies, and that its HyperEVM credit vault, its associated $USDT/AVLT market, and borrowers remained unaffected. Arora also refuted what he called misinformation and speculation, stating that baseless claims fueled the fear driving withdrawals.
What Are the Numbers Behind the Altura Vault?
The Altura vault was built on yield-bearing stablecoins on the Ethereum-linked HyperEVM network. At the time of the withdrawal hype, DefiLlama tracked the protocol's total value locked (TVL) on Hyperliquid L1 at around $32.36 million, with a single yield pool and an average APY of about 17.49%. The vault's volume had previously peaked at around $39 million.
Altura has not yet given a precise date for completing the deal. As the final transaction now awaits bank review rather than settlement scheduling, the timing of the last payouts depends on when the account is reopened.
