It has been a tough time for cryptocurrency startups and companies, given the fact that 2018 has been a brutally bearish in terms of price action.

Bitmain recently closed down its operations in Israel, and Joseph Lubin (a co-founder of Ethereum) has admitted that the bear market has affected his Brooklyn blockchain startup Consensys. It appears as though the U.K. cryptocurrency platform Cubits is also closing down.

Fraudsters pilfer Cubits

Cubits is not closing down as a result of the markets, but because it apparently has lost funds to the tune of 29 million British pounds ($32 million USD) to “fraudsters”. The money does not seem to be able to be reclaimed, and as a result, the company has filed for administration. This means that the company has become insolvent, and appointed an external administrator “to work with those who are owed money by the company and collect monies owed.”

There were some in the cryptocurrency community that believed that the company was actually trying to pull off an exit scam, pointing out that the company was not responding to e-mails or inquiries regarding its service.

Steve Parker is one of the new administrators involved, and stated: “Our goal is to achieve the best outcome for creditors generally at the earliest possible date. Dooga’s position is secure, investigations are proceeding, and we will be writing to creditors, formally, this week.” For clarification, Cubits operates under the legal entity name “Dooga”, which was formed in London in 2014.

We’ll be right back! Our services are currently unavailable. We’ll have Cubits up and running as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience. — Cubits (@CubitsHQ) December 10, 2018

Crypto Twitter Updates

Cubits had simply stated on Twitter on December 10 that their “services were unavailable” and “We’ll be right back!” However, many frustrated users responded to the tweet, claiming that they had been trying to withdraw their funds for some time.

The Cubits Twitter account, @CubitsHQ, has now pinned a tweet explaining that the company has filed for administration:

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