Nearly 30,000 customers still cannot access their funds at Dutch crypto platform Knaken, and prosecutors have now asked the court to place the company into bankruptcy. The filing centers on claims that Knaken offered crypto trading and custody services in the Netherlands without obtaining the license required by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, or AFM.
Knaken had allowed users to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum in exchange for euros. Under Dutch requirements and the European Union’s crypto asset rules, that activity requires authorization. Prosecutors said Knaken never secured the mandatory license, placing the company under direct regulatory scrutiny.
No customer payments made after operations were halted
The company has already said it is suspending operations and winding down, but prosecutors stated that no payments have been made to customers. Officials also said some users were advised not to file compensation claims. The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office said it has “serious concerns” about irregularities in the liquidation process and based its bankruptcy request on public interest grounds.
If the court grants the request, a court-appointed administrator will take control of Knaken’s assets and determine how much, if anything, can be returned to customers and other creditors. Prosecutors added that the administrator would have full authority over that process, while the authorities themselves would not run any repayment plan.
FIOD opens separate criminal probe and carries out searches
A separate criminal investigation is also underway. The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, or FIOD, launched its own probe after warnings and formal complaints from the AFM. On Monday, authorities searched several locations and seized laptops, phones, and company assets.
Officials said there have been no arrests so far. Prosecutors also said the bankruptcy case and the criminal investigation are being handled by different teams so the two tracks do not overlap. If bankruptcy is declared, the administrator will examine Knaken’s holdings and then decide what amounts may be reimbursed to customers and other claimants.
MiCA transition deadline adds pressure on unlicensed platforms
The case comes just as the European Union’s transition period for the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, MiCA, approaches its end. That grace period expires on July 1. After that date, platforms without the required authorization will no longer be able to legally serve customers in the EU.
The Netherlands had already ended its own transition period a year earlier, making the Knaken case an example of tighter enforcement against unlicensed operators. The report also noted that Knaken had previously sponsored Dutch football clubs including Ajax, Feyenoord, and Sparta Rotterdam, though those partnerships had ended before the company’s collapse.