FTX to buy bankrupt Voyager’s assets

Crypto exchange FTX has won Voyager Digital’s assets in a $1.42-billion bid at an auction. After several rounds of bidding, FTX’s U.S. subsidiary was selected as the highest bidder for Voyager’s assets.

The FTX bid comprises a fair market value of all Voyager cryptocurrency, which is pegged at about $1.31 billion at current market prices and $111 million as “additional consideration” in anticipated incremental value.

Voyager boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, luring depositors with high interest rates and easy access to loans rarely offered by traditional banks. However, the slump in crypto markets has hurt crypto companies and investors.

Voyager Digital said its claims against hedge fund Three Arrows Capital will remain with the bankruptcy estate. The company issued a notice of default to the Singapore-based hedge fund in June, for its failure to make required payments on a loan of 15,250 bitcoin.

In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July, Voyager estimated that it had more than 100,000 creditors and between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets, as well as liabilities of the same value. Recently, Voyager’s Chief Financial Officer Ashwin Prithipaul was planning to step down from his role within months of his appointment.