Crowdcube crashed because so many people want to invest in app-only bank Mondo

Crowdfunding platform Crowdcube crashed on Monday under the weight of demand for people looking to invest in app-only bank Mondo.

Mondo announced earlier this month that it was selling £1 million worth of equity in the business through a crowdfunding campaign, as part of a £6 million fundraising.

The campaign launched on Monday at 12 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. ET) on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, but the page crashed almost immediately as it was overwhelmed by demand.

Crowdcube co-founder Luke Lang told BI over email: "We experienced unprecedented demand for mobile first challenger-bank Mondo, which caused issues with our website.

"Our engineering team are currently working hard to resolve this issue. The demand clearly demonstrates the level of interest in Mondo."

Mondo founder Tom Blomfield confirmed to BI over text that 6,000 people had pre-registered to take part in the crowdfunding campaign and said the startup also emailed its existing customer waiting list, taking the total number of people notified to 44,000. Blomfield also appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to promote the campaign.

Blomfield told BI: "Apologies to everyone who's experiencing difficulties. Crowdcube are working hard to get the platform back online. It should be very soon."

Mondo offers a pre-paid card tied to a mobile app that helps you monitor you spending and gives you smart data on your finances. The company currently has 1,500 card in circulation as part of a beta trial but is aiming to have up to 100,000 in circulation by the end of the year, founder Tom Blomfield told Business Insider.

The startup, which is valued at £30 million in its current fundraising, is also applying for a banking license to allow it to offer a fully fledged current account.