Estonian Exchange Coinmetro Files for Bankruptcy Amid MiCA Pressure and Provider Collapse

Coinmetro, an Estonia-based crypto exchange, filed for bankruptcy and began restructuring after suspending deposits and withdrawals on June 22. The company blamed the collapse of several financial service providers and rising compliance pressure from the EU’s MiCA framework, which has increased capital, licensing, and operating costs for smaller exchanges. The filing also comes amid legal trouble, including a lawsuit seeking the return of $1.2 million in assets transferred from Prime Trust before that firm’s 2023 bankruptcy. The case highlights ongoing fragility in the centralized crypto exchange ecosystem and reinforces concerns about counterparty risk, frozen user funds, and the growing impact of regulation on smaller market participants. While the article is primarily about an exchange insolvency rather than BTC price action, it is negative for broader crypto-market sentiment.