Bitwala Bounces Back: Cryptocurrency Banking Platform Relaunches with Striga Partnership
Summary:
Bitwala, the European cryptocurrency banking platform, is relaunching its operations after a shutdown last year due to insolvency. Partnering with banking infrastructure firm Striga, Bitwala will resume services under its original name. Striga will provide Bitwala with "Banking and Crypto-as-a-Service," allowing it to leverage Striga's trading and card-issuing capabilities. The Bitwala app will allow users in 29 European Economic Area countries to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) with the euro. Future plans include the integration of the Lightning Network and a crypto-backed Visa debit card.
Bitwala, the European platform for cryptocurrency banking that was earlier rebranded as Nuri, is making a comeback after halting ops and paying back its customers last year. The company is resuming its services under its original brand name, supported by the banking infrastructure entity, Striga, as revealed in a joint disclosure on November 8. Bitwala is collaborating with Striga, which is offering the crypto banking app its "Banking and Crypto-as-a-Service," tapping into its card issuance and trading capabilities, according to Dennis Daiber, Bitwala's Chief Executive Officer.
Bitwala had rebranded to Nuri in 2021, declared insolvency in August 2022, pointing to liquidity concerns emerging from a severe crypto bear market triggered by the Terra slump. It eventually halted operations in October 2022, instructing its half a million users to withdraw their holdings prior to the end-of-year deadline.
Daiber informed Cointelegraph, "Our goal was to establish a bank. We had all necessary paperwork, checks, applications, and permissions. The only thing short was a 50 million euro buffer for liquidity coverage ratio and operational cost." He added, “We optimistically hired employees for the bank, at our height we had a workforce of 250. However, amid our fundraising efforts, events related to Celsius, FTX, Terra/Luna and Ukraine occurred, which led all investors to hold back their funds. Consequently, we ran out of cash.”
The collaboration with Striga addressed one of Bitwala's significant obstacles by supplying a compliant platform for digital assets banking, thus eliminating any regulatory hassles. Established in 2018, Striga is a fintech infrastructure provider for crypto and banking businesses. The Estonian incorporated entity is a fully-owned subsidiary of Lastbit, a firm incorporated in Delaware, USA.
The Bitwala application is now available in 29 countries within the European Economic Area, enabling users to deal in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) with the euro through Single Euro Payment Area transfers, as stated in the announcement. The platform's future will feature the Lightning Network integration and a crypto-based Visa debit card development, all in association with Striga.
Bitwala's return symbolizes a significant turning point, having encountered numerous obstacles since its inception in Germany in 2015. It had collaborated with Celsius, a now-defunct crypto lending firm, to offer Bitcoin-based annual interest in 2020.
Daiber emphasized Bitwala's new product is focused on the self-custodial wallet, ensuring secure self-storage of users' crypto assets. In his final remarks, Daiber asserted they are returning to Bitwala's 2015 model, abandoning all aspirations of becoming a bank or developing an unnecessarily complex business. He added that Bitwala will concentrate on enabling frequent Bitcoin usage through on- and off-ramp and the Visa card, which will be launched later this week.
Published At
11/8/2023 9:00:00 AM
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