Knaken case turns on missing customer funds
The bankruptcy of cryptocurrency platform Knaken must establish how much money is available for affected customers.
The case surrounding Rotterdam-based cryptocurrency platform Knaken concerns a major shortfall in customer funds and an ongoing criminal investigation. The company has been declared bankrupt; the administrator is trying to realise assets while creditors come forward.
Knaken allowed customers to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies. The platform ceased its activities because it had not obtained the required licence from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. As a result, customers could no longer access their accounts and funds.
At the end of June, the Public Prosecution Service applied for bankruptcy. According to the PPS, the situation was worrying and customers were no longer being paid out. Alongside the civil bankruptcy, a criminal investigation led by the FIOD is under way.
During searches, digital data carriers were seized and the company’s assets were frozen. The PPS said at the time that no one had been arrested. A criminal investigation is not proof of guilt; the precise cause of the shortfall has yet to be established.
In July, the Rotterdam District Court declared Knaken Cryptohandel and affiliated Stichting Knaken Payments bankrupt. The court stated that, according to the PPS, approximately €7 million in customer funds was missing and that customers had insufficient information to determine their own position.
The administrator has since sold more than €2 million worth of crypto assets. According to a report covered by RTL, hundreds of creditors had jointly submitted claims worth more than €8 million. The proceeds are therefore insufficient to pay all claims in full.
The case also shows why cryptocurrency service providers are subject to supervision. Licence requirements include rules on business operations, security and the way customer assets are held. For customers, however, bankruptcy does not automatically mean that all funds are protected; the final distribution depends on the assets and the creditors’ legal position.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Knaken has been declared bankrupt.
- The PPS and the FIOD are investigating the case.
- According to court documents, approximately €7 million in customer funds was missing, according to the PPS.
- The administrator has sold crypto assets, but the proceeds do not fully cover the claims.
Left
Arguments Customers should not become the victims of a sector in which supervision and business models lag behind the technology. The government should enforce stricter segregation of assets, transparency and a safety net for small customers.
Values Consumer protection, financial equality and public responsibility.
Consequences More rules increase costs for cryptocurrency companies, but may prevent major social harm and loss of trust.
Centre
Arguments Bankruptcy and an independent administrator are the appropriate route for putting interests in order. Criminal law and supervision must do their own work, while new regulation remains proportionate and workable.
Values Legal certainty, market forces under supervision and institutional independence.
Consequences The settlement may take a long time, but this prevents political pressure from influencing the investigation or the distribution of assets.
Right
Arguments Those who trade in risky digital assets should in principle bear the risks themselves. The government must combat fraud, but should not implicitly protect every investor against losses.
Values Individual responsibility, entrepreneurial freedom and limited state intervention.
Consequences Less onerous rules may support innovation, but increase the risk that small customers have insufficient protection when a platform collapses.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
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The amounts and procedural steps are based on official documents and a public RTL source. The article does not present suspicions as established guilt.
- confirmed The PPS applied for the bankruptcy of Knaken Cryptohandel and Stichting Knaken Payments. — The PPS describes the application and the reason for it. source
- confirmed The FIOD carried out searches and seized digital data carriers. — This is stated in the PPS statement on the criminal investigation. source
- confirmed The court declared Knaken bankrupt in July. — The Rotterdam District Court published the bankruptcy decision on 16 July 2026. source
- confirmed More than €2 million worth of crypto assets was sold and creditors reported claims worth more than €8 million. — These amounts appear in the public RTL description of the first bankruptcy report. source
Editor's note
The bankruptcy, the searches, the FIOD investigation and the amounts cited by the PPS, court and administrator are certain. It remains uncertain how much customers will ultimately recover and whether criminal offences were committed.Sources
- OM verzoekt faillissement cryptocurrency bedrijf Knaken — Openbaar Ministerie
- Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. failliet verklaard — Rechtbank Rotterdam
- Twee miljoen euro voor gedupeerden failliet cryptobedrijf Knaken — RTL Z
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „knaken cryptovaluta”
- NU.nl — „knaken cryptovaluta”
- De Telegraaf — „knaken cryptovaluta”