Crypto yield platform Haru Invest to suspend server

Troubled cryptocurrency platform Haru Invest is planning to suspend its server a few months after halting withdrawals in June 2023.

Haru Invest is thinking of shutting down its server in order to reduce the server maintenance costs of services, Haru Invest CEO Hugo Lee announced on Oct. 16. The CEO emphasized that the server maintenance cost accounts for the “largest percentage of fixed costs” at Haru Invest and is a priority for the firm.

“We plan to suspend the service in a few weeks, backing up all member information,” Lee wrote in the announcement, adding that the firm is “yet to have a definite plan” for the server suspension.

The firm’s move to shut down the server comes as Haru Invest says it’s “actively devising various strategies” to lower all costs associated with operating its services, the CEO said. “Some of the current fixed expenditures include the upkeep of Haru Invest services, the cost of workspace like the office, and the cost of communication with our members,” Lee noted.

The CEO claimed that Haru Invest intends to further lower its operating expenditures in order to maintain as much of the company’s assets as possible. He also promised that these assets will be added to those assets to be distributed to users who have had their money stuck on the platform since June.

The suspension news has triggered some discontent in the Haru Invest community, with many users arguing that server maintenance likely doesn’t cost a fortune for the firm.

“Server costs cost nothing,” one disgruntled user wrote on Haru Invest’s Telegram channel, which counts around 3,100 members in total.

“Servers are gone soon guys, huge costs, 200 USD a month,” another Telegram commenter sarcastically noted. According to online sources, maintenance costs of running a server for a small to medium business range between $35 to $500 per month.

Lee’s announcement on the upcoming server’s suspension comes a few months after Haru Invest terminated deposits and withdrawals on June 13, 2023. The South Korean firm subsequently closed its offices and fired dozens of employees, local news agencies reported.

Haru Invest claimed that the issues on its platform were caused by the fraudulent activity of consignment operator B&S Holdings, formerly known as Aventus. Some concerned investors accused the firm of orchestrating a “rug pull,” but Haru Invest denied the accusations.

The company CEO appeared in court in September to address concerns over the company’s recent corporate rehabilitation application. Lee said that Haru Invest was cooperating with investigating agencies and working to establish a timeline for recovering users’ assets. As of early October, Haru Invest hasn’t provided any timeline for recovering the funds.

Haru Invest is reportedly facing a class-action lawsuit together with the major South Korean crypto platform Delio, with disgruntled investors accusing the companies of “fraud.”

Magazine: The Truth Behind Cuba’s Bitcoin Revolution: An on-the-ground report