Case summary
What happened
BitLendingClub matched Bitcoin lenders and borrowers through a centrally operated marketplace. It adopted the Loanbase name in 2015 and later returned to BitLendingClub. In February 2016 attackers compromised user accounts after exploiting the platform's web stack; that security incident is recorded separately from the later closure. On 1 December 2016 the operator stopped new registrations, loans, and investments and announced a staged wind-down expected to continue while outstanding loans were repaid. The reviewed evidence does not establish the exact final closure date or uniform repayment of every lender and borrower obligation.
Customer result
Customer outcome
Unknown
The operator's projected timetable and continued repayment access are not treated as proof of full repayment, final withdrawal, or legal dissolution. Security-incident losses and ordinary loan wind-down outcomes remain separate.
- Estimated recovery
- Unknown. The shutdown notice allowed existing borrowers to continue repayment and customers to withdraw after final loan settlement, but the reviewed evidence does not establish completion for every loan, lender balance, or customer withdrawal.
- Repayment started
- 2016-12-01
- Repayment completed
- —
- Confidence
- Medium
Asset treatment
Terms risk
Unclear
Marketplace matching language does not prove that every customer retained direct legal title or that the platform bore borrower-default and security losses. Historical terms, jurisdiction, servicing, fees, default handling, withdrawal conditions, and shutdown procedures require date-specific archive review.
- Affected product
- BitLendingClub and Loanbase peer-to-peer Bitcoin loans and customer account balances
- Confidence
- Medium
BitLendingClub operated centralized customer accounts and a peer-to-peer loan marketplace, but the reviewed public reporting and archive indexes do not establish one complete historical contract governing title to account balances, loan principal, borrower repayments, default recovery, or funds affected by the 2016 security incident.
Known unknowns
Uncertainty
The exact May 2014 launch day, date of the return from Loanbase to BitLendingClub, final legal dissolution date, final platform shutdown date, outstanding-loan completion, customer withdrawal completion, and aggregate recovery outcome were not established by the reviewed sources.
Chronology
Historical record
BitLendingClub launches its Bitcoin lending marketplace
BitLendingClub began operating a centrally administered peer-to-peer marketplace matching Bitcoin lenders and borrowers in May 2014.
The reviewed reporting identifies May 2014 but not an exact launch day; 1 May is a sortable approximate date.
BitLendingClub adopts the Loanbase name
The marketplace changed its public name from BitLendingClub to Loanbase before later returning to the BitLendingClub brand.
September 2015 is supported by contemporaneous retrospective coverage; the exact day and later return date were not established.
Attackers compromise BitLendingClub customer accounts
Attackers exploited the platform's web stack and gained access to customer accounts, causing confirmed Bitcoin losses among users without two-factor authentication.
Reported loss estimates varied. The incident is not treated as the direct cause of the later regulatory shutdown.
BitLendingClub stops new activity and begins shutdown
The operator stopped new registrations, loans, and investments and announced a staged closure while existing borrowers continued repayment and customers retained withdrawal access.
The operator expected the wind-down to continue into 2017, but the exact final shutdown and dissolution dates were not verified.
Source record
Evidence dossier
Filter by claim, reliability, source type, and whether evidence is linked to a specific event.
customer outcome
1 sourcesRegulatory forces cause BitLendingClub to close
Bitcoin.com News · 2016-12-03
Reproduces the operator's wind-down timetable: no new registrations, loans, or investments, continued borrower repayment, and a post-repayment withdrawal period. It does not prove final completion.
Entity
1 sourcesArchived BitLendingClub website captures
Internet Archive
Archive index for the historical marketplace domain. The current domain state is not treated as evidence of customer repayment or final legal dissolution.
Event
3 sourcesBitcoin-based P2P lending platform BitLendingClub shuts down
deBanked · 2016-12-02
Retrospective coverage records the September 2015 change to Loanbase and the later return to the BitLendingClub name.
Bitcoin lending platform hacked, users lose funds
SecurityWeek · 2016-02-10
Reports exploitation of the platform's WordPress installation, unauthorized account access, confirmed customer losses, and varying estimates of total exposure.
Bitcoin loan platform BitLendingClub to shut down
CoinDesk · 2016-12-02
Reports the regulatory-pressure explanation, stop to new marketplace activity, and expected 2017 closure timetable.
launch date
1 sourcesBitcoin loan platform BitLendingClub to shut down
CoinDesk · 2016-12-02
Contemporaneous coverage states that the platform launched in May 2014 and later announced a shutdown. The exact launch day was not provided.
url history
1 sourcesArchived Loanbase website captures
Internet Archive
Archive index preserving the temporary Loanbase domain and brand history. Individual captures require date-specific review before quoting page content.
No evidence records match the current filters.
Comparative records