Haru Invest Suspends Withdrawals, Swears It’s Not a Rug Pull

Singapore-registered Haru Invest announces the suspension of all deposit and withdrawal requests until further notice. The crypto investment platform said it had encountered an issue with one of its service partners.

Haru chose not to provide detailed information regarding the problem’s severity or the partner’s identity. Users and industry watchers have been guessing about the suspension’s length due to the absence of information.

Haru Invest Suspension: Unveiling the Issue 

The platform said it had taken action to protect its users’ investments while further investigating the matter.

In a translated statement, CEO Lee Hyung-soo said,

“In a situation where investor protection is the top priority, I cannot talk about a specific partner company because I am concerned that sensitive issues will be exposed first and I will not be able to get my hands on it.”

Haru Invest is a subsidiary of CeFi digital asset investment platform Block Crafters. The platform operates in around 140 countries. The top boss confirmed that the Block Crafters office in South Korea is closed to ensure employees’ safety and protect assets.

Co-Founder Says it is not a ‘Rug-Pull’

Haru Invest Co-founder Eunkwang Joo tweeted his opinion about the ongoing situation. He said, “I left the company, but as a user, I feel the same frustration. Although Haru Invest had an internal situation, it is not a situation where they are maliciously trying to do a rug pull.”

The co-founder highlights that the decision to delete the social media account may have been made in compliance with legal requirements.

In a strategic alliance last month, the platform teamed up with Mercuryo, a rapidly growing fiat-to-crypto payment infrastructure. By integrating Mercuryo’s on-ramp services into the Haru Invest platform, the partnership intends to make it simple for consumers to exchange fiat money for cryptocurrency.

The digital asset management platform recently unveiled its latest offering, Haru Mining, in partnership with Canadian crypto miner Pow.re. This strategic move expands Haru Invest’s range of digital asset investment services to crypto mining products.

Haru Invest’s Recent Expansion

The South Korea-based platform announced that its subsidiary incorporated in the European Union (EU) had obtained authorization as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP).

Haru Invest had reassured its users that their platform was unaffected by the FTX fall last year. The business emphasized that all of its products and services, including withdrawals, transfers, and payments, would be completely functional regardless of market circumstances or what would happen to specific market players, as per reports.

The business also launched a capital round for strategic investment last year. It raised $4 million at a $284 million valuation. This happened months after South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges followed the Travel Rule deadline. The framework mandated that they put anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing safeguards in place. Since then, the nation has established strict regulations for overseeing the industry in South Korea.