Dutch Crypto Platform Knaken Bankrupt on €7M Customer Shortfall

A Rotterdam court declared Dutch crypto platform Knaken bankrupt on July 16, after prosecutors said roughly €7 million in customer money and crypto cannot be accounted for. The ruling covers Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. and its affiliate Stichting Knaken Payments.

The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service requested the bankruptcy on public-interest grounds, citing concerns about how the company handled customer funds and repayments. The court found the two entities lacked enough assets to fully repay customers.

The shortfall raises questions about customer recovery in the proceeding. The case is the latest in a string of European crypto platform failures where customer funds were not segregated from operational accounts. Knaken had operated as a fiat-to-crypto gateway for Dutch retail traders.

A court-appointed trustee will now assess the asset pool and determine whether any recovery is possible for affected customers. No timeline for a distribution has been set.