European cryptocurrency banking platform Bitwala (formerly known as Nuri) is making a comeback after ceasing operations last year and returning customer funds.
Bitwala is relaunching its operations under its original name, with support from banking infrastructure company Striga, the two companies said in a joint statement to Cointelegraph on Nov. 8.
Bitwala CEO Dennis Daiber said that as part of the partnership, Striga will provide “banking and crypto-as-a-service” to Bitwala, enabling crypto banking applications to take advantage of its transaction and card issuance capabilities.
Bitwala, among others Rename Nuri was founded in 2021 and filed for bankruptcy in August 2022, citing liquidity issues amid the massive cryptocurrency bear market triggered by the Terra crash. The company eventually shut down operations in October 2022 and asked its 500,000 users to withdraw their assets before a year-end deadline.
“We want to set up a bank. We have all the documentation, audits, applications and approvals – the only thing missing is €50 million of liquidity coverage and runway,” Daiber told Cointelegraph. He added:
“We were also ‘optimistic’ in recruiting employees for the bank. At our peak, we had 250 employees. Unfortunately, during the fundraising process, Celsius, FTX, Terra/Luna, and Ukraine had “accidents” that discouraged all investors. So we’re running out of money.”
According to the announcement, the Striga partnership solves one of Bitwala’s key challenges by providing compliant digital assets and out-of-the-box banking infrastructure “without having to deal with any regulatory burden.” Founded in 2018, Striga provides financial services infrastructure to companies in the cryptocurrency and banking industries. The company was incorporated in Estonia and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lastbit, which was incorporated in Delaware, USA.
The announcement states that the Bitwala app is immediately available in 29 countries within the European Economic Area, allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in euros using Single Euro Payments Area transfers. Future plans for the platform include integrating Lightning Network and launching crypto-supported Visa debit cards, all of which are being developed in partnership with Striga.
Bitwala’s return marks an important milestone in the history of the company, which has faced many challenges since its founding in Germany in 2015. The company is best known for partnering with now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius to offer annual interest on Bitcoin in 2020. .
related: Crypto Biz: BlockFi emerges from bankruptcy, Worldcoin halts USDC payments, and more
“One of the original co-founders, Jan Goslicki, and myself—I’ve known both founders since 2011 and joined Bitwala in 2018 as head of trading—share a crypto-first, Bitcoin minimalist mission and believers in the vision of Bitcoin,” Bitwala CEO Daiber told Cointelegraph.
The executive emphasized that Bitwala’s relaunched product is centered around a self-custody wallet that provides 100% secure self-storage of users’ cryptocurrencies. Deb added:
“With this, we are returning to our roots as Bitwala 1.0 in 2015, abandoning all ambitions of becoming a bank or building an unnecessarily complex business.”
The CEO noted that Bitwala will focus on enabling daily use of Bitcoin through entry and exit and the Visa card, which will be launched later this week.
Magazine: How to Protect Your Cryptocurrency in Volatile Markets – Bitcoin OGs and Experts Engage
Svlook
