Ziglu

Ziglu was a London money app founded by Starling Bank co-founder Mark Hipperson that combined FCA-authorised e-money and payment accounts with unregulated cryptoasset trading, wallets and a yield-paying 'Boost' product. Ziglu Limited was incorporated in September 2014. It funded itself largely through equity crowdfunding on Seedrs, raising more than £6m in 2020 and a record £7.19m in 2021 at an £85m pre-money valuation, alongside a Series A with venture firms. Its 2023 accounts showed net liabilities above £3.1m. On 23 May 2025 the FCA restricted certain Ziglu products; on 17 June the firm agreed to stop payments and crypto activity while letting customers withdraw. The directors concluded the company was insolvent and applied to court on 26 June, and on 7 July 2025 the High Court placed it into special administration under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021, appointing David Shambrook and Damian Webb of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory.

RSM UK's joint special administrators are assessing which customer funds were safeguarded and returning money through a claims process; cryptoassets and Boost balances are not safeguarded or FSCS-protected, so recovery is not guaranteed. A secured creditor's bid to have its own nominees appointed was rejected by the court. Progress reports were filed in February and August 2026.

Mixing regulated e-money with unregulated crypto yield products left customers exposed when the firm failed, since only safeguarded e-money has a clear path to recovery; the FCA's product restrictions arrived weeks before insolvency rather than years.