Turbulence at Nuri

The partner company Celsius Network has not paid out any more funds since Monday. Customers of Berlin-based Neobank no longer have access to their Bitcoins.

Customers of Neobank Nuri who have invested in Bitcoins are currently unable to access their digital currency. That's because U.S. crypto lender Celsius Network, a partner of the Berlin-based startup, paused withdrawals and transfers between accounts on Monday - due to "extreme market conditions," according to a blog post. On Tuesday alone, bitcoin lost ten percent of its value.

Founded in 2017 in the U.S., the Celsius Network is a so-called crypto lender and is said to have $12 billion in crypto assets under management. However, Celsius is not a bank and therefore the assets are not protected.

Nuri is merely an intermediary between investors and the Celsius Network. The crypto assets of Nuri's clients were traded on the market and lent to other investors in exchange for an interest rate. Celsius Network itself describes the payout freeze as customer protection. Tighter regulations and interest rate hikes in the U.S. have now led to cryptocurrency prices falling so sharply in recent months. The low for Bitcoins was recently below 21,000 US dollars.

It is still currently unclear when customers will be able to access their assets again. "We want you to be in control of your finances. That's why we are in close contact with Celsius regarding the duration of this payout pause. As soon as we have further news regarding the status, we will of course inform you immediately," Nuri himself writes on his page.

The turbulent weeks continue for Nuri. It was only in May that it was announced that the start-up would cut 45 of its 200 jobs.