BlockFi beantragt Chapter‑11‑Insolvenz nach wochenlangem Schwebezustand

After leaving its clients hanging for weeks, wondering what was going on behind the scenes at BlockFi, the company has just ankündigt that it and its 8 affiliated debtors are indeed proceeding forward with filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States.

Was ist passiert?

Per BlockFi, this turn of events is the result of its exposure to FTX and various of its affiliated companies.  While disheartening to see another large group of investors negatively impacted by a centralized entity, this move is not surprising given the lack of communication afforded by BlockFi since it opted to halt withdrawals weeks ago – a situation reminiscent of what rival lending platforms Celsius is currently going through.

Laut BlockFi ist diese Entwicklung das Ergebnis seiner Exponierung gegenüber FTX und verschiedenen verbundenen Unternehmen.  Es ist zwar enttäuschend, eine weitere große Gruppe von Investoren durch ein zentrales Unternehmen negativ betroffen zu sehen, aber dieser Schritt ist angesichts der mangelnden Kommunikation von BlockFi, seitdem es vor Wochen die Auszahlungen gestoppt hat, nicht überraschend – eine Situation, die an das erinnert, was die konkurrierende Kreditplattform Celsius derzeit durchlebt.

Obwohl das Unternehmen keine genauen Details darüber mitgeteilt hat, wie es zu einer so hohen Exponierung gegenüber FTX gekommen ist, hat die Spekulation aufgrund der bereits früher in diesem Jahr von FTX.US gewährten Rettungsmaßnahme mit einer großzügigen Kreditlinie stark zugenommen.  Alles, was wir wissen, ist, dass das Unternehmen eine erhebliche Exponierung gegenüber FTX hat und nicht normal weiterarbeiten kann, bis es seine in der inzwischen defekten Börse gebundenen Mittel zurückerhält.  Für den Moment fragen sich die Investoren, was genau schiefgelaufen ist.  Wurden Kundengelder missbraucht?  Wo befinden sich die Bestände, die von Gemini verwahrt werden sollten?  Wie groß ist die tatsächliche Exponierung von BlockFi gegenüber FTX? usw.

These answers should come out in time now that BlockFi has filed for Chapter 11 – a path which BlockFi indicates was chosen in an effort to “…stabilize its business and provide the Company with the opportunity to consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximizes value for all clients and other stakeholders.”

Vermögenswerte und Forderungen

In its filing, various bits of information have been released, shedding light on who will be affected, and the state of BlockFi’s finances.  Overall, we now know that somewhere north of 100,000 creditors have been affected by this development, and that BlockFi is in control of assets valued between $1B and $10B.

The top-50 creditors with the most significant exposure were listed in the filing.  The following are the top five, the type of claim, and what is owed to them by BlockFi.

• Ankura Trust Company, Schuldverschreibung, ~730M
• West Realm Shires Inc., Darlehen, ~275M
• Unnamed creditor, Kunde, ~48.5M
• Securities and Exchange Commission, Vergleich, ~30M
• Unnamed creditor, Kunde, ~28M

With many already critical of the SEC on its approach towards providing investors with protection and access to fair markets, it should be interesting to see what comes of the ~$30M still owed to the regulator from its past fine.

Für die Zeit ist es schwer, dass Gläubiger von BlockFi in naher Zukunft Gelder von der Plattform zurückerwarten. Nicht nur muss dieser Prozess durchlaufen werden, sein Fortschritt ist direkt mit FTX und dem eigenen Chapter‑11‑Verfahren verknüpft.

Weiteres Vorgehen

Now that Chapter 11 has been filed, BlockFi has shared various steps that it hopes to take which will allow it to continue operating moving forward, navigating what will surely be treacherous water.  Beyond its stated ~$257M cash on hand earmarked to provide liquidity for some its operations, these steps include filing for,

• einem „Plan zur Bindung von Schlüsselmitarbeitern“
• Zustimmung zur Fortzahlung von Gehältern und Leistungen der Mitarbeitenden
• verschiedenen Kostensenkungsmaßnahmen

From the publics perspective, it is hard to see a good outcome from this situation.  Not only does BlockFi has a checkered past in which it has had run-ins with regulators, and various instances of poor practices, the current state of affairs has resulted in the company having completely lost the trust of many.  Much of this stems from the fact that the company continually encouraged users that everything was alright behind the scenes mere hours before halting withdrawals.  Put bluntly, BlockFi knowingly lied about its situation to the masses, giving false hope and assurances to individuals that were about to lose access to significant sums of their own money – a similar move that has recently resulted in criminal Untersuchungen into companies like Hodlnaut by local authorities.