Bankrupt Crypto Lender BlockFi Inches Closer to Refunding Clients

The firm receives conditional approval for its restructuring plan from a U.S. bankruptcy court.

AccessTimeIconAug 3, 2023 at 4:15 a.m. UTC
Updated Aug 4, 2023 at 10:39 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

BlockFi’s reorganization continues to inch forward as the firm announced that its disclosure statement was conditionally approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey.

“BlockFi’s mission through this process has been to maximize recoveries for our creditors, and conditional approval of our disclosure statement moves us one step closer to accomplishing that goal,” Mark Renzi of Berkeley Research Group who is serving as BlockFi’s chief restructuring officer, said in a statement. “We are confident that our plan provides the best path to expeditiously return crypto back to our clients and we strongly urge BlockFi’s clients to vote to accept it.”

  • DCG Reaches In-Principle Deal With Genesis Creditors
    02:26
    DCG Reaches In-Principle Deal With Genesis Creditors
  • Crypto Custodian Prime Trust Files for Bankruptcy
    02:06
    Crypto Custodian Prime Trust Files for Bankruptcy
  • Celsius Can Start Converting Altcoins to Bitcoin, Ether as of July 1, Judge Says
    04:58
    Celsius Can Start Converting Altcoins to Bitcoin, Ether as of July 1, Judge Says
  • FTX’s Bankruptcy Fees on Track to Be 'Very Expensive', Court Examiner Says
    05:48
    FTX’s Bankruptcy Fees on Track to Be 'Very Expensive', Court Examiner Says
  • The lender added that if the bankruptcy plan is approved, it will focus its efforts on recovering money from other firms, some of which have also declared bankruptcy and are in the process of restructuring. This includes Alameda Research, FTX, Three Arrows Capital, Emergent, Marex, and Core Scientific.

    BlockFi’s proposed bankruptcy plan has its critics, however.

    FTX, Three Arrows Capital and the Securities and Exchange Commission have all objected to BlockFi's proposed bankruptcy plan, as CoinDesk previously reported, arguing it unfairly downgrades their claims, lacks procedural fairness and is overly broad in absolving BlockFi and its management from legal responsibility, with over a billion dollars of disputed transactions in question.

    The liquidator of Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC, said in early July that it will attempt to claw back $220 million of “preferential payments” to BlockFi.

    The deadline to vote on the proposed reorganization is Sept. 11.

    UPDATE (August 4, 10:30 UTC): Changes language in third graph to reflect that BlockFi may attempt to recover money from these firms.

    Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.