German Exchange Nuri Files for Insolvency

Nuri, a German crypto exchange previously known as Bitwala, has filed for insolvency due to poor market conditions.

Nuri Declares Insolvency

Nuri filed for insolvency today, August 9.

Unlike some recently insolvent crypto platforms, Nuri is not planning to deny services to its customers. Users will have guaranteed access to deposits and withdrawals, and Nuri’s services will continue to operate. It stated that its “temporary insolvency proceedings do not affect [customer] deposits, cryptocurrency funds, and Nuri Pot investments.”

Though Nuri will keep existing accounts open, it is not accepting new customers and will not allow new accounts to be opened.

Nuri does not hold most funds itself. It maintains a partnership with the German fintech bank Solarisbank AG in order to manage its users’ Euro deposits. Likewise, Solaris Digital Assets GmbH (SDA) manages the exchange’s custodial crypto wallets, while Bankhaus von der Heydt handles Nuri Pot funds.

Nuri says that its insolvency proceedings will help it develop a long-term restructuring plan and asserts that this is the “safest path forward for all our customers.”

The company cites market issues as its reason for insolvency, noting that “challenging market developments and subsequent effects on financial markets” made its insolvency filing necessary.

More specifically, it called 2022 a “challenging year” for fintech startups due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the market effects of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The company also cited collapses in the crypto industry involving Celsius and Terra as concerns. Other companies are also experiencing solvency issues, including Holdnaut, Vauld, Babel Finance, CoinFLEX, Voyager Digital, and Zipmex.

Apart from a relationship with Celsius that affected its Bitcoin Interest Account last month, Nuri did not state whether it had exposure to the broader crypto industry.

Nuri operated under the name Bitwala until it rebranded in 2021. It was originally launched in 2015 and was one of the better-known crypto services in Germany at that time.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.