French Crypto Startup Disappears after Failed ICO, Leaves Unanswered Questions

After failing to raise the necessary funds from its ICO for its September 2018 launch, French crypto banking Startup Hush has vanished without a word. Social media accounts of founders have been deleted, and no further updates have been made available.

The Risk of Unregulated Crypto Sector

The cryptocurrency sector was always cautioned to be inherently risky due to its relative lack of regulations. Numerous crypto companies come in with great ideas and goals, but sadly end up unable to fulfill those ambitions. Hush, is the latest in line for underscoring this fear.

Similar to many in the sector, the European startup, Hush, sounded promising from the outset. The company, launched in 2017, aimed to “create a new mobile bank, community-driven, participatory, compatible with cryptocurrencies.”

Hush was founded by Éric Charpentier, who is well known for his role in the banking startup Morning. Of course, Charpentier was not blemish-free, as Morning was plagued with controversies pertaining to the mishandling of the funds. Currently, the French bank Edel is operating Morning after the acquisition.

Hush planned to obtain a banking license as well as raise €20 million (~$22 million) following their ICO. At first, everything seemed to be moving as per plan. But soon, things began going downhill.

Poor Fundraising, Disappearing Founders

It started with the weak response to the fundraising effort, propelled by the overall weakness in the cryptocurrency sector. Only a meager three percent of the targeted amount could be raised by April 2018.

Then, by July 2018, Carpentier disappeared from all his important social media accounts including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. By September 2018, the original target date, it was radio silence from the Hush team.

Of course, there was an attempt to pacify investors by the community manager, Max Massat. He claimed the story of the disappearance of Carpentier to be “exaggerated” and explained:

“Eric is now taking the time to manage his projects far from the pressure of his networks. We have decided not to justify ourselves. We work in silence. The real investors in the project know. We leave the fantasies for others.”

However, there were not many takers.

As for now, the startup’s investors and lenders continued to remain in the dark about the future of Hush, with some of them holding unpaid bills amounting to almost €150,000 (~$170,000).