Amidst all of the adulation and positive energy surrounding Bitcoin these days, it may seem like the series of mining closures of 2014 seem like a decade ago. Alas, there are some casualties to speak of today, as 37Coins, who has been a popular Bitcoin wallet provider since 2013, has shut its doors.
Funding and Issues Overseas Mentioned as Causes
Big hopes and dreams of providing the over 2 billion unbanked with Bitcoin accounts started their venture. Making a simple destination for Bitcoin newbies to make digital currency transfers worked in the short-term. 37Coins started off fast and was an attractive alternative to massive wallet sites like Blockchain.info and LocalBitCoins.com. Marrying different regions by text messaging for monetary transfers proved much more difficult than they imagined.
“The decision to cease operations and to shut down our service was difficult,” their blog states. “Despite the best of intentions, we were unable to deliver a quality product that showed product-market fit. We also found that SMS delivery between different carriers in countries outside the USA is unreliable. Lastly, our initial objective was not possible to achieve with the amount of capital raised. That is the most regrettable and we apologize”
They recommend their current users take advantage of the many companies that have started since they began, like BitGive, Coins.ph and ChangeTip. Funds look to be safe for the rest of the year, as 37Coins mentions they’ll keep funds at SMS Wallet until December 31, 2015.
“It has been a privilege getting to know all the bitcoin supporters around the world and to work together toward a fair and balanced financial system. Thank you for being such passionate supporters.”