Bitcoin exchange Buttercoin to shut down due to lack of funding

The United States-based cryptocurrency startup Buttercoin has announced it will be shutting down on Friday, 10th April. The Bitcoin exchange backed by Y Combinator and Google Ventures is closing its online platform due to lack of funding.

A message on the company’s homepage currently reads  “Buttercoin will be turning off our service on April 10th at 11PM Pacific. Be sure to move your Bitcoins to another service and remove your dollar balances. We wish you all the best!”

Buttercoin’s farewell message addresses the customers worried about a possible hack or loss of their BTC. “We remain 100% secure & solvent with all customer funds accounted for,” the exchange says. The company is closing down because it was unable to attract new investors.

“It’s been a wonderful ride and we’re delighted to have created a service so many people enjoy. With the dip in bitcoin interest among Silicon Valley investors, we weren’t able to generate enough venture capital interest to continue funding Buttercoin.”

According to Buttercoin, all dollar balances not removed until April 10th will be sent back to the accounts they came from and all Bitcoin balances will be converted to USD and sent to the bank linked to the customer’s account.

The company was created in 2013 to help people move money around the world without having to pay obscene fees. Buttercoin’s goal was to pair with local money transfer businesses to assure legal compliance in each country.

“We started Buttercoin with the goal of creating secure and scalable Bitcoin infrastructure the community could rely on. We commited to building a service with excellent security, technology, liquidity and compliance. We’re proud to have delivered on our goal and commitments,” the company said.

At the time and in the following months, the Bitcoin exchange was able to raise $1.6 million from well-known and respected investors. The group included Google Ventures’ Kevin Rose and Chris Hutchins, among others. The economist Kevin Zhou, who worked at Standard & Poors, was invited to join the team.