In contrast to many cryptocurrency exchanges in the past that have closed down due to scams or heists, Buttercoin is ending services due to lack of funding.

"We remain 100% secure & solvent with all customer funds accounted for," the announcement said.

Buttercoin, which is based in the US, will stop service at 11 PM Pacific time on April 10. Any funds not withdrawn from the site at that time will be converted into dollars and re-routed into bank accounts linked to users' accounts.

The company began in 2013 as a platform to buy and sell bitcoins, and was funded in part by startup incubator Y Combinator. It launched with the goal of targeting the remittances economy, hoping to compete with more popular money transfer services like Western Union with cheaper and more streamlined transactions facilitated by digital currency. Buttercoin planned to open exchanges in local markets, beginning with India.