Buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Zip says it is “deprioritizing” a planned cryptocurrency financial services product, and is considering an impairment charge against some of its assets in Europe and the U.S.
According to a quarterly report to investors released Thursday (July 21), the Australian company said it would also cease business pending and shutter its operations in Singapore, which CEO Larry Diamond chalked up to “significant and swift changes to the broader macro and capital environment.”
See also: Australia’s Zip to Allow Merchants to Accept Bitcoin Payments, Adds Crypto Trading
Zip’s fortunes bloomed thanks to a wave of pandemic-inspired shopping, expanding into the U.S. in 2020 with its purchase of Quadpay and buying fellow BNPL companies Twisto Payments and Spotii Holdings in 2021.
Related: Australian BNPL Platform Zip to Shutter Money Management App Pocketbook
However, the company has since struggled — like many other BNPL players — and begun to scale back its business.
“Reflecting current market conditions, the company has reviewed the goodwill against the Spotii, Twisto and Quadpay assets and is assessing the need to take an impairment charge,” the company said in its report.
On July 12, PYMNTS reported Zip was abandoning its efforts to purchase rival BNPL provider Sezzle. Zip said the two companies had agreed to step back from the deal because of “current macroeconomic and market conditions.
Diamond said in the investors’ letter that the decision not to buy Sezzle, “coupled with recent decisions made, as well as ongoing strategic initiatives, will see the group reach cash EBTDA profitability earlier than anticipated.”
Read more: Zip Abandons Plans to Buy BNPL Rival Sezzle
Zip also recently announced the closure of its money management app Pocketbook due to “significant changes” facing the company.
“Zip’s operating environment has changed significantly in the last few months and as a result we have adapted our strategy accordingly in order to accelerate our path to global profitability,” Zip Chief Product Officer Travis Tyler said earlier this month.
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