New Zealand crypto exchange Dasset in liquidation, customer funds trapped

Auckland-based crypto exchange Dasset has reportedly gone into liquidation, leaving customers unable to access their funds.

Hundreds of customers have been locked out of their accounts, with some having tens of thousands of dollars worth of crypto trapped, local media The Herald reported Monday.

One customer said they had been trying to withdraw $40,000 — their entire life savings — from their account for three months but had been unsuccessful. Another customer said they had been direct-credited by the company’s CEO, Stephen Macaskill, but were still unable to access their account. 

Macaskill said Dasset had been unable to gain a replacement banking provider after its incumbent provider pulled its service in January, per the report.

He said the company had gone into voluntary liquidation and that a liquidator had been appointed. However, a liquidator has not yet been appointed and customers are still unable to access their funds, The Herald reported. New users are still able to sign up for the platform despite a halt to withdrawals.

Email addresses and phone numbers have been removed from the Dasset website, though a request form remains. A frequently asked questions page, which remains live, details how users can withdraw their funds.

Some users have reportedly been unable to access their funds since April — even for amounts as little as $5,000. The website doesn’t say how existing or new customers should handle withdrawals.

Blockworks has reached out to the exchange but has yet to receive a response. New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority said it is aware of the situation and is investigating. The regulator previously warned that crypto presents a “high-risk, speculative product” and that investors should be mindful of the risks involved. 

Auckland-based Dasset exchange first chartered its beginnings during the height of the ICO bubble in 2017. Compared to major rivals Binance and Bybit, Dasset remains a relatively small venue, data shows. 

It’s the latest in a series of problems to hit the domestic crypto market in New Zealand. In 2019, the crypto exchange Cryptopia collapsed, leaving customers with millions of dollars in losses.

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