Crypto Exchange FTX Succeeds Bankrupt lender Voyager's Support worth $1.4 billion

September 28, 2022: -Customers of beleaguered cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital may find little comfort in the news that FTX, the bitcoin exchange discovered by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is ready to take on the company’s support following winning a bankruptcy auction.

After several bidding rounds, FTX’s U.S. subsidiary was selected as the highest bidder for Voyager’s assets, and the companies said in a statement. The bid was valued at almost $1.4 billion, including $1.3 billion for the fair market value of Voyager’s digital things, plus a $111 million “additional consideration” in expected incremental value.

Voyager says that Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July after a tumultuous drop in digital currency prices left it impossible to redeem withdrawals from its customers. The firm’s demise stemmed partly from the collapse of Three Arrows Capital, a hedge fund that took loans from other institutions, such as Voyager, to make risky gambles on tokens, which includes the collapsed stablecoin terraUSD. In June, 3AC defaulted on borrowings from Voyager for $670 million.

The asset purchase deal was presented to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for approval on October 19. Voyager is hinting at a possible transition of its customers over to FTX U.S., which says the exchange “will enable customers to trade and store cryptocurrency following the conclusion of the Company’s chapter 11 cases.” According to the statement, the sale of Voyager’s assets to FTX U.S. depends on a vote by creditors and “other customary closing conditions,” the report.

The move points to a potential step toward compensating users of Voyager. They have few legal avenues to get paid the crypto they stored on the platform before the customer withdrawals froze. In bankruptcy proceedings, customers of crypto platforms are treated as unsecured creditors, which means they’re not entitled to the crypto they purchased and, such as other creditors, would need to go through the courts to get their money back. The creditors of Mt. Gox, which went under in 2014, are still waiting to be repaid.