Sam Bankman-Fried, head of trading platform FTX and asset management firm Alameda Research, has conceded that a US$70mln line of credit to bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital (CSE:VYGR, OTCQX:VYGVF) is effectively a write-off for FTX.
Speaking on Decrypt’s gm podcast, SBF said: “We came into this knowing that these were not necessarily going to be winners for us. We’re comfortable with that fact.
“I think when you look at Voyager, we’ll see what happens, but best guess is like, that’s $70mln down the drain that we probably won’t see again.”
SBF emerged as a central figure during the recent crypto contagion that saw a number of high-profile centralised finance platforms go bust, after pledging to rescue numerous entities through his two companies.
Voyager, a publicly traded company prior to being delisted, filed for bankruptcy in July after its main debtor Three Arrows Capital itself went bust.
The bankruptcy filings showed that Alameda was itself a major debtor to Voyager to the tune of US$377mln, creating an usual situation where SBF emerged as both debtor and creditor in the bankruptcy.
Better news at BlockFi
It seems that things are less acrimonious in FTX’s bid to acquire another distressed crypto lender BlockFi.
FTX extended a US$680mln line of credit to BlockFi with the option to buy the company for a variable US$240mln based on performance triggers.
The deal allowed the lender to resume operations following a withdrawal freeze in May.
“We were able to get them to a place where they are really strong from a balance sheet perspective, where they’re able to continue operating full steam ahead with plenty of excess capital for customer assets,” SBF said.