Bitconnect says it will shut down it's exchange and website.
This article from a business insider explains why the company failed:
A controversial cryptocurrency exchange platform just announced it's shutting down
Bitconnect -- the company behind a controversial cryptocurrency lending and exchange platform -- announced today that it's shutting the program down.
The company said on its website that it would be closing its lending operation immediately, while the exchange platform would shut down within the next five days.
"We are closing the lending operation immediately with the release of all outstanding loans," it said.
"With release of your entire active loan in the lending wallet we are transferring all your lending wallet balance to your BitConnect wallet balance at 363.62 USD."
"This rate has been calculated based on last 15 days averages of the closing price registered on coinmarketcap.com."
The company cited increased scrutiny from US state regulators as one of the main reasons for its closure.
"We have received two Cease and Desist letters, one from the Texas State Securities Board, and one from the North Carolina Secretary of State Securities Division. These actions have become a hindrance for the legal continuation of the platform."
The company also said its lending and exchange platform had been targeted by hackers, while a continued run of bad press had reduced people's confidence in the service offering.
Despite the closure of its core platform, Bitconnect said it will still support Bitconnect Coin -- the cryptocurrency associated with its lending and exchange operations.
"We will keep working to make BitConnect coin available to merchant websites providing them API access to accept BitConnect Coins on their platforms," the company said.
The price was last listed at $US37.68 on the website coinmarketcap.com, with a circulating supply of 6,298,358.
Perhaps almost comically, that means the Bitconnect Coin is still shown to have a "market capitalisation" of $US253,410,234.
As recently as yesterday, data from Investing.com indicates the Bitconnect coin was trading for above $US300. It subsequently plummeted, and a short time ago was trading at $US36.