By Senad Karaahmetovic
Cryptocurrency lending firm Voyager Digital (TSX:VOYG) announced Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy, according to its Chapter 11 filing, which allows companies to reorganize their assets and debts while pausing all civil litigation matters.
The move comes just a week after the company halted withdrawals, trading, and deposits as it requested more time to come up with a different business strategy.
In the filing, the crypto lender estimated it had over 100,000 creditors and between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets.
"The prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets over the past few months, and the default of Three Arrows Capital on a loan from the company's subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, require us to take deliberate and decisive action now," said Voyager’s CEO Stephen Ehrlich in a statement.
In another post on Twitter, Elrich told customers the move would preserve their assets and help “maximize value for all stakeholders,” particularly customers.
According to the bankruptcy filing, quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research was Voyager’s biggest single creditor, with unsecured loans worth $75 million.
Alameda invested in Voyager last fall, a deal that the lender characterized as "a strategic alliance" with "a clear pioneer" in the crypto space.