Crypto Nuri bank asks customers to withdraw their funds as it goes bankrupt

Formerly known as Bitwala, the Berlin-based crypto-currency bank filed for insolvency earlier this year and failed to find a buyer.

Nuri is maintaining operations until the last day of November and is preparing to close its doors.

Crypto-currency bank and exchange Nuri has asked its users to withdraw their funds by Dec. 18, 2022. The Germany-based company will then end and liquidate its digital assets business, according to a letter from its CEO Kristina Walcker-Mayer, who assured :

Customers have access to and will be able to withdraw all funds until the above date. All assets in your Nuri account are safe and unaffected by Nuri’s insolvency.

The CEO stressed that the platform will continue to support transactions until November 30, 2022. The announcement comes after Nuri filed for temporary insolvency in August. Reports at the time noted that it had become the first German fintech to make this move in a difficult year for crypto startups.

Nuri was launched in 2015 and for a few years, until the rebranding in 2021, operated under the name Bitwala. Over the years, the company has had its ups and downs, but this year’s challenges have become insurmountable.

Difficult economic and political conditions prevented it from attracting investors and raising new funds. The insolvency of one of its major business partners further exacerbated the situation and, despite working closely with its directors on a restructuring plan over the past three months, Nuri was unable to find a buyer.

While many companies operating with digital assets experienced significant growth when crypto prices hit their all-time highs last year, many were hit hard by the 2022 market crash and events such as the terrausd stablecoin (UST) collapse in May. Finding an investor has proven difficult. For example, last month, online payments company Bolt abandoned plans to buy crypto-currency provider Wyre.