The fall of several virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, has been taking place since the beginning of the year
Spanish cryptocurrency platform 2gether has failed to overcome the downturn the sector is experiencing and has been forced to shut down, leaving 100,000 users homeless, according to data from the Association of Financial Users (Asufin). The company announced on Wednesday that it will charge 20 euros in management fees on July 10 due to the “impossibility of maintaining the free service”. From then on, both the platform’s website and the app have been blocked and without the ability to perform any management, Asufin said.
“After serving the crypto community for five years, we are forced to close the private account service. The lack of resources and the crypto winter prevent us from providing the service with the quality and guarantees that other providers in the area do,” the communication said.
2gether thus becomes the first Spanish platform to cease operations due to the crypto winter, a term used in the industry for periods like the current one, when asset prices fall sharply.
Asufin has already announced that it will undertake collective actions and appear in bankruptcy proceedings.
The platform hit the headlines in August 2020 after a cyber-attack on its accounts resulted in the theft of 114 bitcoins and 276 ethers, equivalent to 1,183 million euros worth of cryptocurrencies at the current exchange rate and 15% of your clients’ holdings. .
At the time, it did not have the necessary funds to cover what was stolen from its customers’ accounts, so in January 2021 the startup managed to raise 1.5 million euros in a financing round, an amount that was used to ensure the security of the company and its coverage model, as well as to replace the stolen funds.
“A lot of things have happened in the crypto world because in the past there have been a lot of project promoters with bad intentions and when a problem has arisen, they have not shown their faces and they have closed down,” said the then CEO of the company, Pablo. Ferraz, in an interview with Europa Press.
On the other hand, at the end of July last year, the platform collaborated with the fintech Fellow Funders to offer innovative alternative investment and financing solutions adapted to the new regulatory frameworks, with a focus on creating products and services with a high added value.
2gether isn’t alone: cryptocurrency lending and trading platform Vauld ordered Monday to block all withdrawals, transactions and deposits “effective immediately” as the company studies its possible restructuring options following significant withdrawals to customers in recent days.
Voyager Digital, for its part, voluntarily took advantage of the protections of Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy law this Wednesday to proceed with the restructuring of the company and maximize value for all interested parties.
The crypto winter isn’t just hitting the little ones: Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, decided to temporarily suspend bitcoin withdrawals on June 13, the same day Celsius suspended them due to “extreme circumstances.” From the market.
The list is long and for now there are no signs of improvement in the sector. Bitcoin, the most well-known cryptocurrency, traded this Thursday at 11 a.m. at $20,496 (20,107 euros), 1.52% more than yesterday but far from its maximum, while ethereum was changed to 1,176 dollars (1,153 euros), 3.02% at the time. Lake.
Thousands of jobs have been lost as a result of the declines in recent months. Austrian platform Bitpanda announced a few weeks ago the reduction of its workforce to 730, while Coinbase laid off 1,100 employees and forced other platforms like Gemini to lay off 10% of their workforce.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
