Ready halts card program after Kulipa shutdown; issuer had raised $6.2 million

Ready and Solflare card services stopped after Paris-based issuer Kulipa ceased operations, despite a $6.2 million seed round led by 1kx about four months earlier.

SOL

USDC

27d ago

Fact Check

Every element of the claim is corroborated. The Defiant's primary reporting and Ready co-founder Itamar Lesuisse's official X statement confirm Ready halted its card program after Kulipa's abrupt wind-down, with eligible subscriptions to be refunded and user assets unaffected due to self-custody. Solflare's official blog confirms its card was also disrupted by Kulipa. SpendNode dates Ready's stop to July 30, 2026, matching the claim; minor date variance (Ready's own post July 29, 'Wednesday' in The Defiant) is within a day and immaterial.

Summary

Ready halted its card program on July 30 after issuer Kulipa abruptly ceased operations, ending support without advance notice and forcing the self-custody wallet to stop card functionality. Co-founder Itamar Lesuisse said on July 31 that eligible subscriptions will be refunded automatically and that user assets were unaffected because cards debit directly from users' wallets. Solflare said its own card stopped working on July 29, linked Kulipa's shutdown to solvency issues, and now plans to launch a replacement card within weeks. Kulipa, a Paris-based stablecoin card issuer, shut down about four months after completing a $6.2 million seed round led by 1kx, leaving its U cards unusable and disrupting multiple crypto card programs built on its issuance infrastructure.

Terms & Concepts

self-custody: An arrangement in which users hold and control their own digital assets instead of a third party doing so.
issuer layer: The regulated card-issuing and transaction-settlement part of a payment program that sits beneath the consumer-facing brand.
seed round: An early-stage fundraising round used to finance a startup's initial growth.