German Crypto Bank Nuri Files for Insolvency

Nuri, a cryptocurrency-focused digital banking platform announced it has filed for insolvency in Germany on Tuesday, citing the prolonged crypto winter. The company has assured that customers’ access to the platform’s services and their funds have not been affected.

The 2022 bear market has claimed yet another victim. On August 9, the German crypto exchange Nuri filed for insolvency before a Berlin court citing the prolonged bearish cycle the crypto market has undergone since the beginning of the year, saying the move was “necessary to ensure the safest path forward for all our customers.” Although insolvency often leads to bankruptcy, according to Reuters, unlike other crypto firms to have declared insolvency this year, Nuri has not halted customer withdrawals to their euro accounts and crypto wallets. Users are still able to move their funds. The company was forced to make this decision following unsuccessful attempts to secure a new funding round. The company said in a statement,

All funds in your Nuri accounts are safe due to our partnership with Solarisbank AG. The temporary insolvency proceedings do not affect your deposits, cryptocurrency funds, and Nuri Pot investments which have been done with us.

Nuri, formerly known as Bitwala, has been operating since 2015, offering users the convenience of a regular bank account combined with Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets. The platform also offers saving plans via recurring Bitcoin purchases, as well as its recently launched Nuri Pots, a collection of different exchange-traded funds and other investment products.

Explaining the reasoning behind the decision to file for insolvency, Nuri said it has been facing a “lasting strain” on its business liquidity in 2022 due to “significant macroeconomic headwinds” including the COVID pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along with “the cooling down of public and private capital markets.” The company said,

Additionally, various negative developments in the crypto markets earlier this year, including major cryptocurrency sell-offs, the implosion of the Luna/Terra protocol, the insolvency of Celsius and other major Crypto funds have led to a crypto bear market.

The insolvency filing comes just two months after CEO Kristina Walcker-Mayer, announced the company was letting go of 20% of its employees “to shift our strategic plans towards earlier profitability to adapt to the new reality in the financial markets.”

“All Funds Are Safe”

On the FAQ page regarding the insolvency, Nuri said it will work out the next steps in the process with the help of an insolvency administrator, but stressed that “all funds are safe.” The company said that assets in crypto wallets and vaults remain available and may be withdrawn and traded at any time, indicating that it “does not have access to the coins and/or the private keys in users’ vaults.”

Nuri also made it clear that custodial wallets are operated by Solaris Digital Assets GmbH (SDA), meaning that it does not handle customers’ crypto funds and fiat. The platform’s mobile application remains available allowing users access to their bank accounts via the app. Nuri users are however still unavailable to withdraw funds from their Bitcoin interest accounts as they were launched in partnership with the now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius. The platform says,

The Celsius withdrawal freeze remains unchanged, and the withdrawal function remains inactive.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.