Rotterdam Court Declares Crypto Platform Knaken Bankrupt Over Missing Customer Funds

Highlights:

• Crypto Platform Knaken entered bankruptcy after Dutch authorities alleged that customer funds could not be accounted for.
• Around 30,000 customers lost access to their accounts after Knaken shut down its website and mobile application in early June.
• A court-appointed trustee will review its assets and determine how much money customers and creditors can recover.

Rotterdam Court declared Dutch crypto platform Knaken bankrupt after prosecutors alleged that about €7 million in customer funds could not be accounted for. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service filed the bankruptcy petition in late June after the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets reported what it described as a very concerning situation at Knaken.

Rotterdam Court Declares #Crypto Exchange Knaken Bankrupt After €7 Million Customer Fund Shortfall

— Crypto News (@CryptoNewsGold) July 17, 2026

The court said Knaken failed to tell customers that the company had developed a significant financial deficit. Judges also said a large amount of customer money had disappeared, and investigators have not established how the funds went missing. The court ruled that bankruptcy served the public interest because Knaken failed to disclose its financial position to customers.

Knaken operated a crypto trading platform where customers bought, sold, and stored cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, Knaken shut down its website and mobile application in early June, preventing customers from accessing their accounts or withdrawing assets. Prosecutors estimate that about 30,000 customers lost access to their crypto holdings and account balances after the platform stopped operating.

The court also declared Stichting Knaken Payments bankrupt because the foundation held customer deposits for Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. Stichting Knaken Payments held customer deposits separately from Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. to protect users if the business failed. However, both entities entered the same bankruptcy proceedings.

Crypto Platform Knaken Faces Asset Review

Knaken asked the court to reject the bankruptcy petition and argued that another process would better protect customers. The company argued that bankruptcy would delay customer repayments because seized assets already protected customer interests. Knaken also argued that the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service had already seized company assets during the criminal investigation.

Knaken asked the court to allow it to distribute its remaining funds directly to customers instead of entering bankruptcy. However, the court rejected Knaken’s proposal because its remaining assets could not cover the full value of customer claims. Judges found that Knaken lacked enough assets to repay every affected customer in full.

A court-appointed trustee will now manage Knaken’s bankruptcy estate and oversee the recovery of remaining assets for creditors and customers. The trustee will examine Knaken’s financial records, verify customer and creditor claims, and calculate the assets available for repayment. The trustee will identify Knaken’s remaining cash, cryptocurrency holdings, and other assets before calculating potential repayments for customers and creditors. The bankruptcy process will determine how the trustee distributes any recovered assets under Dutch insolvency rules.

Crypto Firms Face Growing Bankruptcy Pressure

The collapse of the crypto platform Knaken came shortly after Europe completed its transition to the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, which requires crypto firms to obtain regulatory authorization. The Netherlands completed its national transition before the wider European transition period ended on July 1. Knaken did not appear on the list of crypto firms authorized to provide covered services under the MiCA framework when the court issued its ruling.

Knaken’s bankruptcy follows recent insolvency filings by Bitcoin Depot and BlockFills, two separate crypto companies that entered Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States. Bitcoin Depot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The company said it will wind down operations and sell its assets through a court-supervised process.

🚨BREAKING: One of the largest Bitcoin ATM operators just filed for BANKRUPTCY.

Bitcoin Depot has started a voluntary Chapter 11 process to wind down operations and sell its assets.

The company says its current business model became “unsustainable” due to tougher state… pic.twitter.com/f9LjzfGOkv

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 18, 2026

BlockFills filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 15 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Court filings show that BlockFills reported assets between $50 million and $100 million against liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.