Bitcoin reputation startup Bonafide shuts down

   Bitcoin reputation startup Bonafide has chosen to cease operations and begin liquidating the $850,000 it raised in less than a year from investors including Blockchain Capital and US Quest Venture Partners.

    According to emails sent to shareholders and obtained by CoinDesk, the “leading” bitcoin company approached Bonafide about a possible acquisition, but the bid was rejected because it was deemed to be “only beneficial to team members” and not investors.

    Founded in 2013, the startup offers an API (application programming interface) that provides reputation data, wallets and other consumer services to bitcoin companies.

     In emails, co-founders Karthik Balasubramanian and Brian Moyer said they believed investors’ moves far from consumer-facing applications for the technology were also a factor.

Balasubramanian and Moyer write:

    “While investment and activity continues to occur, it is focused on private and alternative chains rather than Bitcoin or other public chains on which Bonafide operates.”

     As a result, the co-founder said they had “little to no hope” of generating revenue, moving their product or securing additional funding.

     Moyer told CoinDesk that the reason consumer bitcoin spending has been declining is a general factor of companies closing down, and that startup teams aren’t rushing to launch another project.

     “We don’t want to be advisors. We’re getting a lot of traction, but it’s not growing. There’s no movement in the bitcoin space. Because of our background, we might be able to raise money to do a few different things, but they’re all long games,” he said.

     Moyer noted that the startup team has not been paid since April, but has continued to work, and it has also explored the possibility of moving to a bitcoin compliance department.

     As for the team’s next steps, Moyer was less forthcoming, adding only that “we’re still watching Bitcoin very closely.”