Enlarge image
BlockFi logo
Photo: Zoonar / IMAGO
The crisis on the crypto market is claiming its next victim: After the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, the American crypto financier BlockFi has now also filed for bankruptcy.
One wants to "stabilize the business and give the company the opportunity to carry out a comprehensive restructuring transaction," said BlockFi.
Immediately after the FTX bankruptcy, BlockFi had stopped paying out to its own customers and admitted that a "significant" amount of money was on fire at FTX.
Therefore, the insolvency of BlockFi was already expected.
According to court documents, the company now owes more than 100,000 creditors.
BlockFi's problems began earlier: when the prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether fell in the summer, BlockFi also got into financial difficulties.
Back then, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried came to the rescue: FTX made a loan to BlockFi and completed an option to take over the company.
A few months later, FTX itself got into trouble.
BlockFi sees itself as "the bridge between digital assets and the traditional world of finance and wealth management."
Founded in 2017, the company issued cryptocurrencies on credit and attracted lenders with promises of high returns.
With this business model, the company was also able to attract well-known investors such as the financial investor Bain or the Winklevoss twins.
At its peak, BlockFi was valued at around $3 billion.
microphone
