Turbulence at Nuri

The partner company Celsius Network has not been paying 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. This is because the US crypto lender Celsius Network, a partner of the Berlin-based start-up, 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.

The Celsius Network was founded in the USA in 2017 and is a so-called crypto lender and is said to have managed crypto assets of twelve billion US dollars. 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 customers were traded on the market and lent on to other investors in return for an interest rate. Celsius Network itself describes the payout freeze as customer protection. The tighter regulations and interest rate hikes in the US have now caused cryptocurrency prices to fall so sharply in recent months. Bitcoins recently reached a low of less than 21,000 US dollars.

It is still unclear when customers will be able to access their assets again. "We want you to have control over your finances. That is 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 website.

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