Ziglu
Robinhood agreed to buy it for $170M; three years later it was insolvent
A London money app from Starling Bank co-founder Mark Hipperson that paired an FCA-authorised e-money account and debit card with buying and holding cryptocurrencies and crypto yield products called Boost.
- Capital raised (announced)
- Estimated
Recorded announced backing; this is separate from cash received, customer deposits and money recovered.
Funding
| Round | Date | Announced | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed round (£5.25 million) | 2020 | Not disclosed | |
| Seedrs equity crowdfund (more than £6 million) | 2020 | Not disclosed | |
| Seed follow-on via Angel Investment Network (£900,000) | 2021 | Not disclosed | |
| Seedrs equity crowdfund alongside Series A (£7.19 million) | 2021 | Not disclosed | |
| Series A fundraise launched (£5 million offered) | Unknown | Not disclosed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Hipperson | Sep 2018 – end | Director of Ziglu Limited, which is in administration, and of Ziglu Investment Limited | Oct 2026 | |
| Yang Li | — | Unknown | — |
Timeline
2018
Started by Mark Hipperson after Starling Bank and a role as chief technology officer at Centtrip.
June 2020
2 December 2020
More than 1,250 investors took part through Seedrs.
24 March 2021
Reported as part of a £6.1 million seed round.
10 November 2021
The share price was £48.30, up from £34 in 2020.
April 2022
Subject to regulatory approval. The price was cut to $72.5 million in August 2022.
February 2023
Robinhood wrote its advances to Ziglu down to zero and took a $12 million charge.
13 February 2023
He said he would stay as a non-executive director and shareholder.
23 March 2023
CoinDesk, citing Sky News.
February 2025
The company announced plans for Ziglu Coin and expansion to Gibraltar.
23 May 2025
17 June 2025
Agreed with the FCA; customers could still withdraw.
26 June 2025
How it ended
After the FCA restricted some of its products, Ziglu agreed to stop its payments and cryptoasset activities while letting customers withdraw, and asked them to take out their e-money and crypto. Its directors then applied to court for special administration, having concluded the firm was insolvent. The FCA said the crypto side was unregulated and not covered by safeguarding, so there was no guarantee crypto customers would get their assets back.
What happened next
- Insolvency proceeding7 July 2025
An Insolvency and Companies Court judge made the order under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 and appointed David Shambrook and Damian Webb of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory as special administrators, who are responsible for customer claims and returning customer funds.
Still alive
Open spot
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Sources
23 sources behind this page.
- 1Bank of England spot exchange rate, US dollar into sterling, 10 November 2021 · Bank of England · Nov 2021
- 2Bank of England spot exchange rate, US dollar into sterling, 2 December 2020 · Bank of England · Dec 2020
- 3Bank of England spot exchange rate, US dollar into sterling, 24 March 2021 · Bank of England · Mar 2021
- 4Bank of England spot exchange rate, US dollar into sterling, 25 June 2020 · Bank of England · Jun 2020
- 5Crypto Exchange Ziglu Courting Buyers After Robinhood Deal Collapses: Report · CoinDesk · Mar 2023
- 6Mark Dean HIPPERSON: appointments · Companies House
- 7Mark Dean HIPPERSON: appointments (second officer record) · Companies House
- 8Fiat to Crypto Platform Ziglu Raises £5.25 Million Seed Round · Crowdfund Insider · Jun 2020
- 9Robinhood Cancels Ziglu Acquisition as it Reduces Expenses · Crowdfund Insider · Feb 2023
- 10UK Crypto Startup Ziglu Faces Financial Collapse, Enters Special Administration · Crowdfund Insider
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- 11UK Money App Ziglu Hits Seedrs Target in 81 Minutes · Crowdfund Insider · Oct 2021
- 12London-based fintech startup Ziglu successfully raises €6.6 million on Seedrs to grow its personal money app · EU-Startups
- 13Ziglu's Founder Resigns after Acquisition Deal with Robinhood Fails · Finance Magnates · Feb 2023
- 14Ziglu Limited enters special administration · Financial Conduct Authority · Jul 2025
- 15UK money app Ziglu enters special administration · FinTech Futures
- 16Ziglu secures £7m in landslide crowdfund · FinTech Global · Nov 2021
- 17Re Ziglu – special administration and choice of administrators · Radcliffe Chambers
- 18Ziglu successfully closes largest equity raise of 2020 · Startups Magazine
- 19Ziglu crowdfunds £6 million for app that combines traditional and digital currencies · Tech.eu · Dec 2020
- 20Ziglu wants to bring the challenger bank mindset to crypto · Tech.eu · Sep 2020
- 21UK Crypto App Ziglu Enters Special Administration After Failing to Recover From Big Losses · The Fintech Times
- 22London-based Ziglu secures almost a million in funding to bridge the worlds of cash and crypto · UKTN · Mar 2021
- 23Ziglu secures £5.25m seed funding · UKTN · Jun 2020
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.