/Graveyard/BuyCoins Pro

BuyCoins Pro

Cryptocurrency trading platform.

🇳🇬 Nigeria Crypto & Web3Sunset by its owner

Epitaph

“Here lies BuyCoins Pro. It gave Nigeria's technical traders order books and currency pairs atop the BuyCoins app. But there was never enough volume to fill their orders, and between the central bank's crypto ban and the post-FTX chill, its owner wound the Pro tier down.”

Overview

Born: 2017 (Year)
Died: January 2024 (Month)
Lifespan: 7 years
Fate: Sunset by its owner
Headquarters: 🇳🇬 Nigeria
Category: Crypto & Web3, Fintech
Stage at death: Seed
Primary cause: Regulation
Contributing causes: External shock, No product-market fit, Founder or team

Death certificate

Timeline

2017Founded as Bitkoin
later becomes BuyCoins
2018Y Combinator
accepted into YC, rebrands to Buycoins
2021CBN crypto ban
Central Bank of Nigeria bars banks from servicing crypto exchanges, company rebrands to Helicarrier
2021Co-founder exit
Olatomiwa Lasebikan's directorship terminated
2022FTX collapse
triggers broader crypto market downturn
June 2023Co-founder exit
Ireoluwa Aderinokun's directorship terminated
December 2023BuyCoins Pro sunset
Helicarrier discontinues the Pro trading vertical, citing insufficient trading volume

Autopsy report

Why did BuyCoins Pro shut down?

Helicarrier (formerly BuyCoins) sunset its advanced crypto trading platform BuyCoins Pro in December 2023, citing insufficient trading volume to fill customer orders, against the backdrop of Nigeria's 2021 CBN restrictions on bank support for crypto exchanges and the post-FTX crypto downturn; the shutdown coincided with the quiet departure of two of the startup's three founders.

What BuyCoins Pro attempted

An advanced crypto trading exchange tier ('Pro') for technical traders, offering order books and multiple currency pairs, built atop the original BuyCoins peer-to-peer crypto app founded in 2017 (as Bitkoin) and accepted into Y Combinator in 2018.

Early warning signs

Customers complained the exchange lacked enough trading volume to fill their orders; Nigeria's Central Bank barred banks from servicing crypto exchanges in 2021; two of the startup's three founders quietly had their directorships terminated (one in 2021, another mid-2023).

What happened

In December 2023 Helicarrier announced BuyCoins Pro would be sunset, giving users a three-month window to withdraw assets; the closure followed years of regulatory pressure from the CBN's 2021 crypto banking ban and the 2022 FTX-driven crypto downturn, and coincided with the quiet exit of two of the three co-founders.

Lessons for future builders

An exchange tier is only as good as its liquidity. Confirm enough trading volume to fill orders before launching advanced features, and plan for regulation that can cut off the banking rails beneath you.