Core Scientific has received permission from the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Texas to take out a loan of up to $70 million from investment bank B. Riley, one of the company’s biggest creditors. The loan would be used to pay off the bankrupt Bitcoin miner’s existing debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing loan, which also came from B. Riley. Core Scientific stated its intention of replacing its original DIP loan in advance at the beginning of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, saying it would find better terms with more flexibility. The company is seeking to use $35 million to replace …

Court-appointed examiner Shoba Pillay submitted her final report on select aspects of operations at bankrupt cryptocurrency Celsius on Jan. 31. The document was commissioned on Sept. 29 and is 470 pages long, not counting the 31 appendices. Pillay is a former federal prosecutor and partner at law firm Jenner & Block. She looked at how customer cryptocurrency was stored at Celsius, the accuracy of the company’s public representations, whether new deposits were used to pay existing customers, the status of the company’s mining business and tax compliance. “Celsius promoted itself as an altruistic organization,” Pillay wrote. However, “Behind the scenes, …

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has been granted court approval to sell off its crypto mining equipment as part of ongoing efforts to repay its creditors. A court document filed on Jan. 30 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey stated that the approval for BlockFi to sell its assets was on the grounds that it was “fair, reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.” The court acknowledged the sale of the assets is “designed” to maximize the recovery and “realizable value” of the company. With the court giving BlockFi the green light, more bids are now …

Embattled crypto investment firm Alameda Research is suing bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in an effort to claw back loan repayments FTX made before it collapsed in November. Lawyers managing the FTX and Alameda bankruptcy case sued Voyager for $445.8 million in a Delaware court on Jan. 30. While both companies filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Voyager's chapter 11 filing came four months earlier in July. Following Voyager's Chapter 11, the crypto lender demanded repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliate investment firm Alameda Research. According to FTX lawyers filing on behalf of Alameda, these loan repayments …

Sam Bankman-Fried's legal team is seeking to remove a bail condition that prevented him from accessing FTX's funds, according to court filings from Jan. 28. A letter from Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Cohen, to United States District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried should have access to assets held by FTX, claiming the client was not involved in previous unauthorized transactions. FTX and FTX US have sought over $659 million in unauthorized transfers amid the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022, according to Nansen data reported by Cointelegraph. Bankman-Fried denied any involvement in the transactions. As per the …

Crypto lender BlockFi has had a highly tumultuous 12 months. After getting caught up in the Terra fiasco, which resulted in one of the most prolific asset death spirals of all time, the company managed to avoid bankruptcy after receiving a $400 million lifeline in July 2022. The problem? Its lender was FTX US, and we all know what happened next. Although BlockFi has attempted to separate itself from Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, its secret financials tell a different story. This week’s Crypto Biz delves into BlockFi’s uncensored financials, the likelihood of “Celsius token” ever …

At least five firms placed bids on Celsius Network’s crypto assets, including Binance, Bank To The Future and Galaxy Digital, according to leaked information shared by crypto blogger Tiffany Fong. Fong, a follower of Celsius developments who shot to fame after several exclusive interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried following its collapse, has leaked information from documents she says were obtained on Dec. 20 “detailing the bids on Celsius Network’s crypto assets.” In a Substack post, Fong explained that she initially refrained from leaking the bids to avoid disrupting the bidding process but was prompted to do so after recent commentary from …

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Kristin Johnson has urged Congress to adopt legislation that "closes the current gap in the oversight of crypto spot markets." During a speech at the digital assets conference at Duke University on Jan. 21, Johnson proposed a number of amendments that would enable the CFTC to conduct “effective due diligence” on businesses, including crypto firms, that want to acquire CFTC-regulated entities. The Commissioner also wants expanded powers for the commodities regulator to enhance customer protection, prevent liquidity crises, and mitigate conflicts of interest. One of these potential changes would be to give the commodities …

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is working on two papers to address fundamental legal risks in the crypto markets, such as the insolvency of crypto exchange firms, according to a statement released on Jan. 26. The initiative was motivated by the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and previous bankruptcy cases that “prompted a cascade of liquidity and solvency concerns across the crypto ecosystem.” Along with other things, the papers will offer guidance for market participants regarding crypto ownership and the role of intermediates in the event of bankruptcy. “The prospect of insolvency of a major market participant requires …

An investigation into FTX’s collapse by an examiner could cost the firm upwards of $100 million without providing any benefit to creditors or equity holders, argues lawyers representing the bankrupt crypto exchange. The arguments were part of a Jan. 25 objection to a motion from the United States Trustee in December, which called for the judge to appoint an independent examiner to ensure any investigations are transparent and their findings made public. This will be fascinating. 4 Senators submitted a letter asking for an Independent Examiner. Will they do more? Several States have entered the FTX case. Will they lend …

A complete list of the creditors owed money by the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been released, revealing a myriad of companies and government entities wrapped up in its collapse. Late on Jan. 25, lawyers for FTX filed its creditor matrix to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The massive 115-page document details the names of its creditors in alphabetical order. The list reveals the sprawling global web of companies from airlines, hotels, charities, banks, venture capital firms, media outlets and crypto companies along with U.S. and international government agencies all owed money by the fallen …

A judge overseeing bankruptcy proceedings for crypto lending firm Celsius Network has denied motions from three users with different claims on assets stuck since July. In orders filed with United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 25, Judge Martin Glenn denied a motion from Rebecca Gallagher, a Celsius claimant who argued her interest-bearing 'Earn' assets on the platform were “her property and not property of the bankruptcy estates” under the control of the debtors. The judge denied similar motions from Celsius account holders Mark Benzaken and Kulpreet Khanuja. Motions from the three individuals included …