Dutch prosecutors have sold the seized crypto assets of the bankrupt platform Knaken for €2.2 million. Currently, this funds is the only available cash in the liquidation estate, but customer claims against the platform are estimated at €10 to €12 million.
Customer claims far exceed existing assets
Court-appointed trustee Carl Hamm said he has contacted approximately 6,300 former clients and advised them to lower their expectations. According to his estimate, the total funds clients had in their Knaken accounts amounted to between €10 million and €12 million, while the current liquidated assets total only €2.2 million.
Hamm also stated that Knaken may not have held sufficient crypto assets to match customer account balances. Customers can see their asset balances in their accounts, but many assume they directly own those coins.
Dispute over platform fund ownership
Hamm explained that after a customer places an order to buy Bitcoin, the platform first charges a €1 fee and then purchases a €99 position through a counterparty. According to him, this cryptocurrency is legally owned by Knaken, and the customer receives a corresponding euro claim.
Ronald J., head of Knaken, denied claims that client funds were widely idle. He told Rijnmond that the company operates on a brokerage model, with each order recorded with an order number, execution price, and timestamp. He acknowledged that some client exposures were not fully covered.
Operations ceased prior to bankruptcy, and regulatory issues continue to escalate.
Knaken ceased operations in early June and entered bankruptcy proceedings in July. Dutch prosecutors previously stated that approximately €7 million in customer funds could not be accounted for, and the Rotterdam court determined that the company’s assets were insufficient to fully repay users.
The platform also faced financial strain after losing 23 BTC in a 2020 cyberattack. According to court records, Ronald J. also transferred approximately €2.3 million from Knaken to another company under his control, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. He stated that the entity was established for marketing purposes.