The move comes days after the company issued a default notice to embattled hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for the fund’s failure to make required payments on a loan.
Crypto lender Voyager Digital has suspended withdrawals, trading, and deposits to its platform, due to challenging market conditions, amid a deepening meltdown in beleaguered cryptocurrency markets, and said it is exploring strategic alternatives to preserve the value of its platform.
The move comes days after the company issued a default notice to embattled hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for the fund’s failure to make required payments on a loan. The company is seeking protection from creditors in the United States under Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code, which allows foreign debtors to shield US assets.
Voyager Digital in a series of tweets said that it is pursuing strategic alternatives and that it’s focused on protecting assets and maximizing value for all customers as quickly as possible. It said in a release that it had hired Moelis & Company and the Consello Group as financial advisors, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal advisors “to support its exploration of strategic alternatives.”
On June 22, Voyager signed an agreement with Alameda Ventures Ltd for a revolving line of credit, gaining access to additional capital to meet its customers’ liquidity needs as crypto prices take a hit.
In a release, New Jersey-based Voyager said the value of the crypto assets it holds is $685 million, compared with the more than $1.12 billion in crypto assets it had loaned.
Voyager said it had lent $350 million and 15,250 bitcoins to 3AC. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that 3AC has entered liquidation. The move by Voyager comes less than a month after rival crypto lender Celsius Network suspended withdrawals, citing extreme market conditions. Celsius has not yet opened withdrawals back up for its customers.
The largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is down 58% in the first six months of 2022, its worst first half of year showing ever. Crypto markets have been under pressure since May with Terra tokens UST and Luna collapsing. The latest casualty in the crypto crash would be Three Arrow Capital (3AC) whose collapse dampened confidence in crypto markets.
