|EN| Suspension of activities — Recent developments (updated 5 May 2023)

6 min readApr 26, 2023

Information to the market and customers of bit4you SA

05 May 2023

Dear Customer,

On 26 April 2023, we informed you that we had recently learned that one of our major service providers, CoinLoan, based in Estonia, no longer had the required registration as a virtual currency depository and that a provisional administrator had been appointed by court order on 24 April 2023.

Following this, we immediately took several steps to understand the nature and to understand the nature and scope of this situation.

As a result of these steps, we have no indication that the virtual currencies held on behalf of our clients with CoinLoan will not be recovered, especially considering the message published by CoinLoan on 25 April 2023 which you can find at the end of this text.

In order to protect the interests of our clients and in the interest of fairness, we have suspended the execution of transactions through the platform since 26 April 2023.

Based on the information currently available, we have requested the provisional administrator of CoinLoan to recover as soon as possible the virtual currencies deposited with CoinLoan and which continue to be the property of bit4you’s customers, irrespective of whether CoinLoan or bit4you continues to operate.

As a result of the steps taken and the suspension of the execution of transactions through the platform since that date, we wish to inform you of the recent developments:

a) in view of the above, bit4you S.A. has withdrawn its application for registration as a VASP (Virtual Assets Service Provider) by letter dated 1 May 2023 and notes that this withdrawal took effect on 2 May 2023;

b) bit4you S.A. has decided, in order to continue to protect the interests of its customers and to continue to ensure equal treatment of its customers, to request the Court to appoint a provisional administrator to ensure the orderly resolution of bit4you’s commitments.

Following this procedure initiated by bit4you on 4 May 2023, the President of the Tribunal issued an order on 5 May 2023 appointing a College of temporary administrators within bit4you composed of Mr Nicholas OUCHINSKY and Mr Dirk SMETS.
This College, which does not replace the board of directors is among others invested to implement the resolution plan with a view to safeguarding in particular the interests of the customers.
To this end, the College of temporary administrators will start its mission by describing bit4you’s financial and economic situation and assessing its ability to continue its activities. It will report to the President of the Tribunal of Enterprise.

For your information, please find below the quantities of virtual currencies held on behalf of bit4you’s customers with CoinLoan, which have remained unchanged since 26 April 2023:

a) ADA: 638630,3823535 (~59,96 %)

b) BNB: 501,13053821 (~48,11 %)

c) BTC: 145,30546755 (~81,45 %)

d) CLT: 2500 (100 %)

e) DOT: 5892,69272510 (~25,02%)

f) ETH: 1097,48098842 (~67,32%)

g) LINK: 4822,81669622 (~35,34%)

h) LTC: 512,84347324 (~27,58%)

i) USDT: 5294,33 (~0,25%)

j) XLM: 452075,6079946 (~59,07%)

k) XMR: 279,09109313 (~54,98%)

l) XRP: 1247519,45612 (~85,66%)

Please note that the percentages are approximate.

We understand that this situation may cause concern, but we want to assure you that we are doing our utmost to resolve this situation diligently and to protect the interests of our customers. We remain at your disposal to answer any questions you may have and to provide you with the necessary information.

We thank you for your trust in bit4you AG and will keep you informed of any important developments.

Yours sincerely

The bit4you SA team

For your complete information, please find below the message published by Coinloan:

“A disposition restriction notice received yesterday, April 24, 2023, forces CoinLoan to halt all operations for its users, including withdrawals. This action is unexpected and has an immediate effect. Therefore, we have no choice but to comply with the said requirements. We are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.
Our legal entity in Estonia (CoinLoan OÜ) is part of the CoinLoan Group, and the approval of the provisional administrator is now mandatory for any transaction involving CoinLoan OÜ’s interaction with the Group that could result in obligations for CoinLoan OÜ. The receipt of this approval may take several business days. We will share more information as soon as it becomes available.
Our legal team has provided sufficient arguments to prove CoinLoan’s ability to meet its obligations. The appointment of a provisional administrator seems to be the easiest way for the court to find a solution by allowing an independent third party to verify the financial situation of the company. We will appeal, but we must also comply with the court’s decision.
Shutting down all activities on the platform is a difficult decision, and we have taken it with a heavy heart. We understand that this news has an impact on all CoinLoan users, whose interests have always been our priority. We will work diligently to fulfill our obligations, taking all necessary steps to protect and preserve user assets.” (free translation)

(source: https://coinloan.io/blog/important-message-to-all coinloaners/.)

You can also find the link to the publication following the CoinLoan court decision:

https://www.ametlikudteadaanded.ee/eng/teadaanne?teat e_number=2065591

28 April 2023

We are in the process of repatriating all our customers’ assets, which are not blocked on Coinloan, to Bit4You wallets.
We are monitoring the situation with Coinloan in Estonia very closely, and keep you informed of the situation day by day.

Dear Customer,

We would like to inform you that we recently learned that one of our major service providers, CoinLoan, based in Estonia, no longer has the required registration as custodian of virtual currencies. Following this, we immediately took several steps to understand the nature and scope of this situation.

We were informed that a court decision of insolvency was issued against CoinLoan on Monday 24 April 2023 in Estonia. However, to date we have no indication that the virtual currencies held on behalf of our customers with CoinLoan will not be recovered, especially in view of the message published by CoinLoan on 25 April 2023 which you can find at the end of this text.

In order to best preserve the interests of our customers and for the sake of fairness, we have suspended the execution of operations through the platform.

We continue to take all necessary steps to protect and preserve our clients’ assets and will keep you informed of developments.

For your information, please find below the quantities of virtual currencies held on behalf of bit4you’s clients at CoinLoan: