ChangeTip to shut down following AirBnB acquisition
Micropayments service ChangeTip is shutting down just months after its employees were acquired by Airbnb. More than 100,000 people signed up for ChangeTip and sent some 350,000 tips since its launch just over two years ago. But at the end of November the site will be put in withdrawal-only mode. Customers will be able to take out any remaining funds via bitcoin withdrawal or given the option to donate them to charity. Founder Nick Sullivan said ChangeTip was "honoured to have been the 'first bitcoin wallet' for so many people".

When we started ChangeTip a little over 2 years ago, we had a vision for a company that would allow people to spread appreciation on the web for things they enjoyed. It feels good to be appreciated, and ChangeTip aimed to make that possible all over the web.

Since then, over 100,000 people have signed up for ChangeTip, and more than 350,000 tips have been sent. We gave the Bitcoin movement a good boost, and we’re honored to have been the ‘first bitcoin wallet’ for so many people.

In the spring of 2016, ChangeTip’s employees were acqui-hired by Airbnb, where most of us work today. Since then, we’ve been searching for the best outcome for ChangeTip, and unfortunately the only remaining option is to shut it down.

At the end of November 2016, all tipping functionality will be deactivated, and the site will be put into withdrawal-only mode for people to collect their funds. The site will remain up for a number of months to allow users to withdraw their funds, and we will be reaching out to users to notify them.

We recommend you close your ChangeTip account. You may withdraw any remaining funds via BTC withdrawal, or you can donate your funds to Charity when you close your account from the settings page.

FAQ

Wait! Can’t you keep it running by doing x or y or z? We’ve explored dozens of options thoroughly over the past few months, and came up empty. It’s time. Among other complications, the monthly costs to maintain the servers, services, and customer support to keep the site running are not insignificant. Furthermore, the potential legal liabilities that may arise make a volunteer effort unappealing. What happens to my money? We want you to have it! The site will be up in a withdrawal-only mode for you to log in and withdraw the funds. If you don’t want it, you can donate it to charity when you close your account. How long do withdrawals take? We process withdrawals in batches, usually within 24 hours. If you’re still waiting after that, feel free to send us an email. What about my USD? Withdrawal as USD has been unavailable for a few months. However, you may convert your USD to bitcoin and withdraw it. What happens to my data? When you log-in, you will have the option of closing your account, at which point we will delete all the social data. Are you making money off this closure in any way? No. In fact, we have been working for free for quite some time to keep the site running. How long will you keep the site up? For a reasonable amount of time, probably a couple months. We have a lot of work to do to contact users to let them know to come to the site and get their money. If you have friends or family who use ChangeTip, please help spread us the word. What if I have another question? Ask below, and we will try to get it answered.

We want to extend a very special thanks to our entire community. We are truly humbled by your generosity and your philanthropic spirit. It was a great adventure, and we’re proud of what we built - we sincerely hope you enjoyed using ChangeTip. Please continue to spread the mission of generosity, gratitude, and appreciation all over the web.