Crypto Lender BlockFi Files for Bankruptcy as FTX Fallout Grips Industry

BlockFi, one of the largest cryptocurrency lenders in the industry, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

The crypto firm, founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, has liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion and more than 100,000 creditors.

The company recently acknowledged it had “significant exposure” to FTX and founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s subsidiaries. Blockfi said this included “obligations owed to us by Alameda, assets held at FTX.com, and undrawn amounts from our credit line with FTX.US.”

BlockFi owes $729 million to its largest creditor, Ankura Trust, a business that manages creditors in stressed situations. FTX, its second-largest creditor, is owed $275 million on a loan approved earlier this year. The firm also listed the SEC as a creditor that is owed $30 million.

BlockFi currently has $256.9 million in cash on hand, which is enough liquidity to support operations throughout the process.

The company noted in its filing that bankruptcy protection would allow BlockFi to effectively stabilize the organization and restructure operations, including recovering all obligations owed by its counterparties, like bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. But BlockFi noted it expects recoveries from FTX will be delayed.

Crypto prices have also been hit hard over the past month. Bitcoin and Ethereum have slumped 22% and 28%, respectively, and the global crypto market cap has dropped to $820 billion, down from its November 2021 peak of about $2.5 trillion.

BlockFi, which received financial backing in its early days from major Wall Street investors Peter Thiel and Mike Novogratz, hired Kirkland & Ellis and Haynes & Boone as bankruptcy counsel and Berkeley Research Group as a financial advisor.