London-based renowned cryptocurrency custody and settlements platform Koine has gone into administration.
Koine, whose clients along with Bitfinex exchange and brokerage GCEX, were helmed by CEO and chairman Hugh Hughes, the earlier CEO of Societe Generale Securities.
Koine had investment commitments with two parties that were due to provide a total of over £15 Mln at the end of January, Koine co-founder Phil Mochan added.
“One of these parties was unable to finish on schedule then the opposite party pulled out,” Mochan explained. “A number of Koine’s clients offered to take a position themselves but the entire sums offered and timing were insufficient to stay the business alive.”
The institutional cryptocurrency ecosystem is coming aged, with banks collaboration with startups, and fintech platforms checking out acquisition targets. But the tech is complex and expensive to create, and therefore the coming wave of interest is breaking too late for Koine.
Founded earlier in 2017, the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority]–regulated Koine aimed to bridge the gap between institutions, crypto exchanges, and trading platforms with an ambitious custody & settlement tech stack.
On reflection, building out subsequent stages of the Koine platform proved to be an important lift, taking longer and involving more capital than expected, added Mochan, who is now working with Penrose Digital, a neobank serving the cryptocurrency businesses within the EU and UK.
“Given the superb tech and enthusiastic clients, it remains to be seen whether a phoenix will arise from its ashes or whether an investment bank decides to select up the reins and accelerate itself into the market,” Mochan explained.
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