Harpie, Coinbase-supported crypto security, ceases operations due to business model difficulties

Harpie, a platform dedicated to safeguarding wallets from theft and hacking incidents, has ceased operations due to difficulties in establishing a viable business model.

Harpie, an on-chain firewall service backed by Coinbase Ventures and OpenSea, announced the closure of its services on Thursday, March 27, as the company was unable to create a "sustainable business" around cultivating a "theft-free crypto ecosystem," per an X thread.

"We've made the difficult decision to shut down Harpie. Services will be discontinued immediately.

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The company, which focused on shielding crypto users from hacks, scams, and theft, expressed hope in the post that it had made a difference and encouraged other businesses to "take up that torch and address this challenging issue."

As stated in the announcement, Harpie's services would be discontinued immediately, and users were advised to disconnect their wallets from the Harpie RPC through their wallet's network switcher.

"If your transactions are failing, please disconnect your wallets from the Harpie RPC through your wallet's network switcher. We will create a utility to move vaulted assets on the Harpie website in the coming days."

Harpie

Despite the shutdown, Harpie ensured that all pending giveaways and rewards from its referral program would still be distributed.

The closure follows almost three years after Harpie secured $4.5 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly Capital, with contributions from Coinbase Ventures and OpenSea. Initially, Harpie's business model involved charging a 7% fee on any recovered assets, according to the company's whitepaper. Over time, however, Harpie transitioned to a fixed fee of 0.01 ETH per asset, regardless of the amount recovered.