Caught in the 2gether crypto corralito: "Everything is blocked, it's a horror story"

Thousands of people have been trapped on the Spanish platform 2gether. The company, which acts as a kind of neobank to buy/sell cryptocurrencies and which was one of the most consolidated players in our country, announced its definitive closure yesterday. In a few weeks it will disappear and the consequences are already being felt among users. “After five years serving the crypto community, we are forced to close the private account service. The lack of resources and the 'crypto winter' prevent us from providing the service with the quality and guarantees with which other nearby providers are doing it,” the company informed its clients on Wednesday. Said 'crypto winter' refers to periods of strong market crashes, such as the one that has been experienced since the end of 2021. The first email announcing the closure of 2gether ABC They cast the blind, but before that those affected must go through cash register. 2gether reported that it cannot provide the free service and, therefore, on July 10, it will charge each user 20 euros for maintenance and management costs. And that if as of July 20 there are still cryptocurrencies left by those who have not canceled their account, the platform will do it for them by charging another 30 euros. After that, it will be extinguished. The company reported that they have started the process of orderly closure of the accounts and that everyone can liquidate their positions and withdraw their money... but the reality is that none of this is possible. The surprise among users on Wednesday night and during Thursday was huge when they found the sudden closure of 2gether, which was until now one of the most relevant actors in the crypto scene in Spain. Not only that, since now investors are left stranded without knowing who to turn to: the platform has put its website under maintenance, they have closed their accounts on social networks and it is practically impossible to contact those responsible. ABC has been able to locate several affected by the closure of the company. Several of them among the around 100,000 that Asufin estimates there are. “We have been warning for a long time about investment in cryptocurrencies and the risk of platforms. This is not regulated and the investment can be lost in its entirety, "warns Patricia Suárez, the president of Asufin. “We don't know if the platform has gone bankrupt or not; what we do know is that it has announced that it is no longer providing service and there has been a closure of its social networks, of the platform and users cannot access it, "says Suárez. She speaks in the first person of the plural because the Asufin association itself is affected, because it was an investor due to some tests they were carrying out, although its exposure is barely 100 euros. Disappeared from the network “We have no way of contacting them, they have eliminated all social networks and their website is undergoing maintenance” Ferrán Castro Affected Others have much more invested through 2gether and have been trapped. Ferran Castro is a 35-year-old administrator, currently unemployed, who had up to 2,000 euros invested in cryptocurrencies through the platform. The 'crypto winter' caught up with him since the end of 2021 and he has lost a good part of his investment. He now he can't even withdraw what he has in the account. «With the web you can not do anything because it is under maintenance. And with the app you can do almost nothing. You can't sell almost any of the cryptocurrencies, not even your own, but you can buy, "says this affected, very indignant. In his case, in addition, he denounces that 700 Cardano coins have disappeared from his portfolio after having completed what is called 'stalking' - keeping a cryptocurrency in his portfolio in exchange for a return, similar to a deposit. In short, more than 320 euros have disappeared at the current exchange rate that no longer appear in his account and he does not know where they have gone. But he is equally resigned because what is left in the account cannot be withdrawn either. "They block our accounts to charge us 20 euros for management and then the other 30 euros," he laments, not knowing when he will be able to have access to his investment. Contacting the company, moreover, has been impossible. Other users warn that hundreds of euros in cryptocurrencies have also disappeared on the platform and that notifying the application support is useless because there is no response, only an automatic email is received; the collapse is complete and confusion among customers is increasing. Despite everything, Castro points out that it is not the first time that 2gether has upset him. He says that there have already been other moments that made one suspect that the platform was not working as it should: "There were errors and sometimes it would not let you withdraw the money." Past crashes “It's frustrating because it's not the first bad experience with 2gether. When bitcoin plummeted, sales were blocked until it stabilized »BT Affected BT, who prefers only to display his initials, is another of the thousands affected. He agrees with Ferran Castro in that he is very frustrated because it is not the first bad experience. “When bitcoin crashed, they blocked sales until it stabilized. You wanted to get the money and you couldn't. The platform was not stable, or they blocked it on purpose », he explains. In his case he has the rank of 'founder' within the 2gether clientele; a higher user category than usual. And he can't do anything either: “The experience is frustrating. I try to contact them and the website is under maintenance, the Twitter accounts are all closed, also those of those responsible... Everything is blocked, I can't get my money." A second email that users have received to clarify the situation, although they denounce that ABC does not solve anything In their case, they accumulated 2,500 euros on the platform, although due to the depreciation that practically all cryptocurrencies have suffered, added to some withdrawals made, He only has 800 euros left. His hope is to be able to recover that money to take it to another electronic wallet and that the only consequence that remains is the 50 euros in commissions that the company sets before closing. But he does not have it all with him in the face of the blockade of funds that they currently suffer. Patricia Suárez, from Asufin, encourages people to unite to seek a joint claim, and reach legal action, in case the worst omens come true: «The worst scenario would be that they have gone bankrupt and enter bankruptcy, with which you would the queue to collect. In addition, it would be necessary to verify if the administration has been correct, in case it could have criminal consequences.” No option at all «This is a horror story that has been going on for a long time. Result of a hard road. They have always treated us fatally» Antonio Rodríguez Affected Antonio Rodríguez, another affected, pleads for following the judicial route to reclaim what is his and not sit idly by. “This is a horror story that has been going on for a long time. Result of a hard road. From the beginning they have always treated us fatally », he denounces. The latter is even an investor in the company since he participated in the last round of financing for 2gether; business investor, and cryptocurrency investor. “I can't do anything with my assets, and they want to charge us a commission in a few days. That is why they have blocked the accounts, to be able to collect it; They don't give you a choice, they use your assets. It's a barbarity. What cannot be allowed is to allow a company to do this type of barbarity », he affirms. What Rodríguez wants is to be able to withdraw the funds from him and send them wherever he sees fit. “They are going to force me to take losses and I don't want to,” he concludes. Other cases of closures This is the first major closure, with a corralito included, that occurs in Spain, although the reality is that in other countries such as the United States, bankruptcies of this nature have already occurred. As reported by Europa Press, the cryptocurrency lending and trading platform Vauld ordered this past Monday to block all withdrawals of funds, as well as transactions and deposits "with immediate effect", while the firm studies its possible restructuring options after the substantial refunds to customers in the last few days. Voyager Digital, for its part, voluntarily availed itself this Wednesday of the protection of Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law in order to undertake the restructuring of the company and maximize value for all interested parties. The crypto earthquake continues to shake investors and large platforms such as Binance or Coinbase are not spared from the fall in cryptocurrencies in these months, to the point of having had to limit asset trading at times.

Source link