Crypto Startup Zwoop Goes Downhill After Cancelling ICO, Files For Administration

By Prashant Jha

An exclusive piece of news has been broken by British mainstream media outlet The Telegraph as its reports claim Zwoop has apparently filed for administration this past November. Zwoop is an e-commerce as well as crypto startup and if the rather convincing report from The Telegraph is to be believed, its board of directors has filed for administration nearly two months back, at the end of November 2018.

The decision to file for administration has clearly followed the decision to cancel its proposed ICO quite closely. The firm was due to host an ICO or initial coin offering in August 2018 but after that month passed and no ICO was launched, they clarified that the ICO proposal had been put on hold indefinitely, until further notice. It cited legal advice received from its counsel members for the suspension of the ICO.

Other media houses have reported anonymous sources (independently unverified by us) as saying that the decision to file for administration has caused many employees to be left high and dry. Much like many of the US federal employees grappling with the consequences of Trump’s shutdown, people on the Zwoop payroll have been struggling to deal with wages and bills that remain unpaid on the company’s end.

Reports also indicate that Zwoop owes quite a bit of money to two PR and marketing firms. Together, these two companies, based in London, are due to receive around £72,000 from Zwoop. However this sudden decision has naturally disrupted their hopes of making good on their credit.

Zwoop was founded by Italian businessman Alessandro Gadotti who seems to have quit after the issue with the ICO launch. The American billionaire Robert Friedland, who had invested in the startup, his firm Ivanhoe Capital and the Zwoop employees were left to contend with the $2 million of unpaid amounts that Gadotti left behind without any explanation or account.

Apparently, a confrontation with Gadotti led to know confession from his side, leaving the firm in an extremely difficult state. As the convoluted saga of a startup gone wrong unfolds, we have little choice but to wait and watch what goes down.