FTX US Wins Bid for Voyager’s Assets

Popular cryptocurrency exchange FTX has won the bidding war for the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, which were valued at around $1.4 billion, Voyager said in a press release on 26 September.

According to the announcement, the agreed upon price represented the $1.3 billion fair market value of crypto that is stored on Voyager’s platform, and an additional “consideration” of $111 million in “incremental value”. The official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) — which represents customers and creditors in Voyager’s bankruptcy proceedings — actively participated in the bidding process, and “supports FTX US’ winning bid”. Voyager said in a statement:

“FTX US’s bid maximizes value and minimizes the remaining duration of the Company’s restructuring by providing a clear path forward for the Debtors to consummate a chapter 11 plan and return value to their customers and other creditors. FTX US’s market-leading, secure trading platform will enable customers to trade and store cryptocurrency after the conclusion of the Company’s chapter 11 cases.”

While the terms of the deal are yet to be revealed —with Voyager saying information “will be shared as it becomes available” — the sale of the assets will be completed after an agreement is submitted for approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on 19 October. The bankrupt crypto lender revealed it had received multiple bids during the process, but determined that the “sale transaction with FTX is the best alternative for Voyager stakeholders”.

This is actually the second time FTX has made a bid for Voyager’s assets this year. Back in July, Alameda Ventures and FTX made an offer to the crypto lender to buy all of its assets and outstanding loans — with the exception of the defaulted 3AC loan — but Voyager declined the proposal saying it had “misleading or outright false claims”, and that it could harm its customers.

Back in July, Voyager Digital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — which allows a firm to retain control of its assets while reorganizing itself — claiming it was “the best way to protect assets on the platform and maximize value for all stakeholders”. One of the main reasons behind the move was crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which defaulted on a $650 million loan from Voyager. The company has said that claims over any recovered amount from 3AC will belong with the bankruptcy estate, and will be distributed to the estate’s creditors.