Cryptocurrencies have been pummeled over the past year. The regulatory crackdown that emerged in early 2018 sparked a selloff for bitcoin and other top options like Ethereum and bitcoin cash.
In the beginning of the late 2017 craze, some financial technology companies were dipping their toes into the fledgling market.
Skip ahead to late 2019, and some of these companies are turning their back on cryptos.
Goldmoney (TSX:XAU) stock has climbed 27.9% in 2019 as of close on March 15. Shares are still down 39% year over year. The Toronto-based company emerged as a gold based financial services platform, offering precious metals and wealth services as well as a BitGold operating gold savings platform and gold payment network.
In late 2017 Goldmoney offered a service to buy and sell bitcoin and Ethereum. Earlier this month Goldmoney announced that crypto purchases would no longer be available on its platform. Customers who used the platform for crypto would be required to liquidate or move holdings to a crypto wallet.
Mogo Finance (TSX:MOGO)(NASDAQ:MOGO) stock has increased 7.5% in 2019 so far. Shares are down 18% from the prior year. The MogoCrypto account still offers the buying and selling of bitcoin.
Its crypto offerings have not moved the needle in any meaningful way in comparison to its more lucrative features.
Moving forward it is possible that regulatory pressure will make it more difficult for companies like Mogo. Whether hit will follow in Goldmoney’s footsteps remains to be seen.
