Crypto-focused German bank Nuri has made a comeback from insolvency, rebranding itself under its original name, Bitwala, and launching a streamlined service.
Nuri filed for insolvency in a Berlin court in August, shortly after announcing plans to lay off 20% of its workforce in an effort to achieve profitability. The company successfully returned outstanding customer funds to its 500,000 clients before seemingly closing for good.
Now, Bitwala is refocusing on its core offering of buying and selling cryptocurrency. “Buying and selling crypto has always been at the heart of Bitwala’s business,” said Jan Goslicki, chief experience officer. “While we’ve explored various use cases in the market, the truth is that everyone wants to buy BTC and sell it when the price rises.”
The platform’s return is facilitated by a new compliant infrastructure package from Striga, allowing it to ease the licensing and regulatory burdens it previously faced through Solarisbank.
The Bitwala app is now available in 29 countries within the European Economic Area (EEA), enabling users to access Bitcoin and Ethereum, exchange them for euros, and conduct SEPA transfers. Future enhancements for the platform include integrating the Lightning Network and launching a crypto-backed Visa debit card, both developed in partnership with Striga.