Today in Crypto Turmoil: Woes Deepen, Legal and Repayment Developments from Celsius, 3AC, Voyager Digital, and More
The market may be on the up as the week draws to a close, but crypto turmoil shows no signs of abating. There are more goings-on at Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Celsius (CEL) is in the spotlight again – and the Voyager journey continues.
Here’s a round-up of the latest happenings in the space.
Courtroom beckons for Celsius?
The yield farming pioneer Jason Stone, the CEO of KeyFi, has filed a lawsuit against the ailing crypto lender Celsius. Stone’s legal team claims that Celsius has failed to honor contracts and has asked a branch of the US, New York Supreme Court to compensate him for an amount that would “be determined at trial.”
The filing claims that Celsius made use of customer funds in a bid to “manipulate cryptoasset markets,” and alleges that Celsius “failed to institute basic accounting controls,” which “endangered those same deposits.”
Wrapped repayments
While Celsius will hope to avoid legal struggles such as the aforementioned case, it has also been busy trying to steady its financial ship.
Data provided by Nansen appears to show that Celsius deposited USD 500 million worth of wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) on the FTX crypto exchange’s platform very shortly after Celsius paid off its debt to the lender Maker (MKR) – reclaiming USD 450 million worth of WBTC collateral.
On Twitter, Nansen quipped that there was “nothing to see here.”
3AC funds must be ‘safeguarded’, judge rules
Everyone with skin in the 3AC game has been following events in the British Virgin Isles with keen interest.
The nation’s Supreme Court’s latest ruling in bankruptcy proceedings includes an order for liquidators to “safeguard the value of the company’s assets from market volatility.” This will effectively mean liquidators will be given the power to convert 3AC’s crypto holdings into either fiat or a fiat-pegged stablecoin such as tether (USDT).
Furthermore, the ruling includes a list of creditors, including the 3AC co-founder Su Zhu and Kelly Kaili Chen, the wife of his fellow co-founder Kyle Davies. Creditors on the list would be first in line to receive repayment, while it’s indicated that the duo likely invested much of their own personal fortunes in the company.
We’re not 3AC, claims TPS
The over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trading firm TPS Capital has moved to distance itself from 3AC. It has previously called itself 3AC’s “OTC trading arm,” but took to Twitter to publish a statement calling itself “an independent legal entity” whose “operations are separate and distinct from those of 3AC.”
The company explained:
“3AC was a shareholder of TPS for a very brief period immediately following TPS’ incorporation in December 2020, but it has not held any shares in TPS since January 2021. Su Zhu and Kyle Davies each have an indirect equity interest in TPS.”
TPS, however, claimed that Zhu and Davies were “passive investors” who “do not run or have any direct control over [TPS’s] day-to-day operations.”
Voyager woes deepen
Customers of the crypto broker Voyager Digital who were hoping for a break from the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – which insures accounts for up to USD 250,000 per depositor in case of a bank failure – could be out of luck.
Voyager’s banking partner, the Metropolitan Commercial Bank, issued a statement on the matter. And the economist Frances Coppola, who shared the statement on Twitter, wrote that the TL;DR was “bad news” for customers – as the FDIC does not provide protection against Voyager Digital’s failure.
Voyager filed for bankruptcy this week, but Metropolitan Commercial Bank explained:
“The Metropolitan Commercial Bank maintains an omnibus account specifically designated for the benefit of Voyager customers. The omnibus account holds US Dollars only. It does not hold cryptocurrency or any other asset. FDIC insurance does not protect against the failure of Voyager, any act or omission of Voyager or its employees, or the loss in value of cryptocurrency or other assets.”
Meanwhile, there were further developments on the Voyager front – from Alameda Research, the quantitative crypto trading firm founded by the FTX chief Samuel Bankman-Fried.
happy to return the Voyager loan and get our collateral back whenever works for voyager
— Alameda Research (@AlamedaResearch) July 8, 2022
The prominent software engineer and crypto trader Eric Wall chimed in on the matter.
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Learn more:
– Crypto Turmoil Latest: Celsius in Board Change, Genesis Clear of 3AC Trouble & FTX’s ‘Billions’
– Crypto Turmoil: 3AC Files for Bankruptcy, FTX and BlockFi Agree, Suspensions at Voyager
– Crypto Chaos Continues as Loans Firm Cuts Withdrawal Limit, 3AC Moves Funds, & Celsius Apparently Pays Maker
– Voyager Digital Files for Chapter 11, Seeks to ‘Maximize Value for All Stakeholders’
– Troubled Crypto Fund Three Arrows Capital Has USD 7.5M Worth of Blue-Chip NFTs – Report
– Three Arrows CEO Zhu Su Seeks to Sell Luxury Singapore Mansion – Reports
