UK crypto platform startup BlockEx takes a tumble

BlockEx, an exchange for digital currencies, has filed for insolvency.

The London-based startup has hired Leonard Curtis to run a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which allows distressed businesses to walk away from certain liabilities. Creditors, including former employees and HM Revenue & Customs, are owed more than £3 million in total.

BlockEx is planning a restructuring and is confident it will emerge with new investment, a source told The Sunday Times.

The venture said it raised £20 million through its own ICO last year, when it issued Digital Asset Exchange Tokens (DAXT). However, Co-founder and Chief Executive, Adam Leonard, later admitted that only £5.5 million of the funding had been forthcoming as the crypto market hit troubled waters.

The price of DAXT has collapsed and is now almost worthless.

Rollercoaster ride

In a 2018 annual review, posted online earlier this year, Leonard talked of a rollercoaster year for BlockEx. “We’ve faced all the usual things that startups see, including some funding difficulties which we believe will be soon behind us. Along the way we delivered great products, formed new partnerships, moved towards regulation and became award-winning. But it has been far from plain sailing,” he wrote.

“We have a solid platform that we believe works well in a regulated market, excellent brokerage partners, and we remain confident about the future and 2019,” he concluded.