blockfi

Bankruptcy court told FTX and Alameda they owe BlockFi $1B, but it’s complicated

A lawyer for BlockFi told the first-day hearing of its bankruptcy proceedings that the crypto lender has $355 million stuck on FTX and that the collapsed exchange’s sister company Alameda Research has defaulted on a $680 million loan.

BlockFi filed 15 motions on Nov. 28 that were approved by the court in the first day hearing on Nov. 29, including the redaction of personal details of its 50 largest creditors and the appointment of Kroll Restructuring Administration as its claims and noticing agent — the same firm chosen by FTX for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

In a message emailed to worried clients, BlockFi noted that the approved motions allow it to continue “core operations” during the restructuring process and also to continue to pay its employees and independent contractors. BlockFi estimates that its wages bill is around $5.8 million per month and that it owed around $1.5 million in wages when it filed the motion on Nov. 28.

The message to clients said that BlockFi’s “singular focus” throughout the proceedings is “maximizing value for all clients and other stakeholders.”

According to a Nov. 29 CNBC report, BlockFi’s attorney, Joshua Sussberg, also added in the hearing that BlockFi plans

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BlockFi lawyer tells court priority is to ‘maximize client recoveries’

In this photo illustration, the BlockFi logo seen displayed on a smartphone.

Rafael Henrique | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

BlockFi plans to reopen withdrawals as part of an effort to “maximize client recoveries,” the crypto lender’s lawyers said at a court hearing Tuesday, a day after the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

BlockFi’s lawyers at that hearing expressed optimism that the firm is in good position to restructure and salvage the business through the bankruptcy process.

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“We want to make sure we get people back as much of their value as quick as we can,” said Josh Sussberg, a partner at BlockFi’s legal firm Kirkland & Ellis.

BlockFi’s collapse was precipitated by exposure to Three Arrows Capital — which filed for bankruptcy protection in July — and to Alameda Research, the FTX trading arm that borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from BlockFi. FTX had arranged a rescue plan for BlockFi, but that fell apart when FTX faced its own liquidity crisis earlier this month and rapidly sank into bankruptcy.

BlockFi loaned $671 million

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