Haru Invest
A $284M valuation in September 2022, frozen nine months later
A South Korean-founded, Singapore-headquartered platform that took customers' Bitcoin, Ether and stablecoins and paid double-digit annual yields from in-house trading strategies.
- Capital raised (announced)
Recorded announced backing; this is separate from cash received, customer deposits and money recovered.
Funding
| Round | Date | Announced | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic investment, September 2022 | 2022 |
Announced is what was said at the time. Cash actually received is rarely disclosed and is not assumed to match.
People
| Name | Role | Period | Now | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo Hyung-soo Lee | — | Not established | Sep 2026 | |
| Eunkwang Joo | — | CEO, WASD3R (since December 2022) | Oct 2026 |
Timeline
2019
The company's own account dates its founding to 2019, in South Korea; it later described itself as headquartered in Singapore.
1 September 2022
The company said it had processed more than $2 billion in transactions across more than 140 countries. Transaction volume is distinct from funds deposited or revenue.
13 June 2023
Decrypt reported the suspension affected some 80,000 users. The South Korean exchange Upbit said it would restrict withdrawals to the platform.
22 June 2023
The company said it would minimise the operations of Haru Invest and its affiliated companies. Employment contracts ended on 23 June; the reported count of more than 100 comes from local media.
How it ended
Haru Invest suspended all deposits and withdrawals until further notice, citing a problem with one of its service partners, which it later named as its external asset manager. It never reopened. Within days it said it would minimise operations across its affiliated companies and ended the contracts of more than 100 employees. Its operator was later declared bankrupt by a Seoul court.
What happened next
- Insolvency proceedingApril 2024
According to a report citing local media, investors had applied for a corporate rehabilitation procedure around June 2023, which the court rejected, and then petitioned for bankruptcy in April 2024.
- Insolvency proceeding20 November 2024
The court declared Haru Management Limited bankrupt and set the first creditors' meeting for 11 February 2025. Five days earlier the company had published a notice opposing a bankruptcy declaration.
- Court rulingJune 2025
The court acquitted the chief executive and two executives of the parent company of fraud charges brought over the 2023 suspension, finding negligent management but no proven criminal deception. It said investors could still pursue civil claims. Reported on 17 June 2025.
Still alive
Open spot
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Sources
8 sources behind this page.
- 1Haru Invest CEO Acquitted of $650M Fraud by Seoul District Court · CoinCentral · Jun 2025
- 2South Korean Crypto Yield Platform Haru Invest Pauses Withdrawals and Deposits · CoinDesk · Jun 2023
- 3Haru Invest declared bankrupt amidst alleged $1b investor fraud · crypto.news · Nov 2024
- 4Crypto Yield Firm Haru Invest Sacks 100+ Employees Following Withdrawal Halt · Cryptonews
- 5Court Clears Haru Invest CEO of $650M Fraud Charges · CryptoPotato
- 6Crypto Earn Platform Haru Invest Freezes Withdrawals, Citing Service Partner Issue · Decrypt · Jun 2023
- 7LinkedIn profile of Eunkwang Joo · LinkedIn (self-published profile, viewed by a person) · user-editable
- 8Haru Invest Celebrates Its Third Year of Operations with New Funding Raise at a $284 Million Valuation · PR Newswire (press release issued by Haru Invest) · Sep 2022
Every figure above is clickable and opens the sources behind it. Copies were stored when each source was read, so a citation still resolves after the page it came from is gone.