According to Cointelegraph, European cryptocurrency banking platform Bitwala, formerly known as Nuri, is relaunching operations under its original name in partnership with banking infrastructure company Striga. The firms announced the partnership on Nov. 8, with Striga providing Bitwala with 'Banking and Crypto-as-a-Service,' enabling the crypto banking app to draw on its trading and card-issuing functionality. Bitwala filed for insolvency in August 2022, citing liquidity issues amid a massive crypto bear market triggered by the Terra crash. The firm shut down operations in October 2022, asking its 500,000 users to withdraw their assets before the year-end deadline.
The Striga partnership solved one of the key challenges Bitwala was facing by providing compliant digital assets and banking infrastructure without the need to handle any regulatory burden. Striga, founded in 2018, provides financial services infrastructure for companies in crypto and banking. The Bitwala app is now accessible in 29 countries within the European Economic Area, allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) with the euro using Single Euro Payment Area transfers. Future plans for the platform include integrating the Lightning Network and introducing a crypto-backed Visa debit card, all of which are being developed in collaboration with Striga.
Bitwala CEO Dennis Daiber told Cointelegraph that the relaunched product is centered around the self-custodial Wallet, providing 100% secure self-storage of users' crypto. Daiber added that Bitwala will focus on enabling everyday usage of Bitcoin via on- and off-ramp as well as the Visa card, which will launch later this week. The return of Bitwala marks a major milestone in the history of the firm, which has faced many challenges since it was founded in Germany in 2015.
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