Reuters –Voyager Digital went out of business on Wednesday, a week after it froze withdrawals, trading, and deposits on its platform while it looked into other options.
In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Tuesday, New Jersey-based Voyager said it had more than 100,000 creditors, assets worth between $1 billion and $10 billion, and debts for the same amount.
During a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, all civil actions stop, and businesses can come up with plans to turn things around while they keep running.
“The prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets over the past few months, as well as Three Arrows Capital’s default on a loan from the company’s affiliate, Voyager Digital, LLC,” said Voyager Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ehrlich in a statement.
Ehrlich added in a separate statement to customers on the company’s Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) handle that the process would safeguard assets and “maximise value for all stakeholders, particularly customers.”
According to a petition filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Alameda Research was Voyager’s largest single creditor, with unsecured debts totaling $75 million.
In October, Voyager announced Alameda’s investment and called it a “strategic collaboration” with “a clear pioneer” in the crypto business.
At the same time, Alameda Co-CEO Caroline Ellison said that the partnership offered “endless opportunities for both of our businesses to grow and thrive.”
Voyager announced last week that it had sent a default notice on Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for failing to make due payments on a loan of 15,250 bitcoin (roughly $324 million) and $350 million in USDC, a stablecoin.
Later that week, 3AC filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 15, which lets foreign debtors protect their assets in the U.S.
According to Reuters, which cited a source familiar with the case, Three Arrows is one of the most well-known investors hurt by the sharp sell-off in crypto markets and is being liquidated.
Voyager announced on Wednesday that it had more than $110 million in cash and crypto assets on hand. It wants to pay staff the same way it always has and keep their main benefits and some client programmes the same as well.
Many of the problems in the crypto industry right now can be traced back to May, when the so-called stablecoin TerraUSD suddenly lost almost all of its value and its associated token.
Voyager has hired Moelis (NYSE:MC) & Company and The Consello Group as its financial advisers, Kirkland & Ellis LLP as its legal adviser, and Berkeley Research Group LLC as its restructuring adviser.
