Bankruptcy filings in the digital asset space continue, as cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday, May 8, 2023. The Bankruptcy Docket can be found here. Desolation Holdings LLC and its affiliated debtors, Bittrex, Inc., Bittrex Malta Holdings Ltd., and Bittrex Mala Ltd., as debtors and debtors in possession (“Bittrex US”) filed their chapter 11 petitions alongside a plan of liquidation. Unlike other exchanges that have sought to reorganize in fits and starts, Bittrex US heads directly to liquidation. Activities outside of the US, including Bittrex Global, shall continue uninterrupted by the filing.

Continue Reading Bittrex: Regulatory Enforcement and Macroeconomic Headwinds Lead to Another Crypto Bankruptcy

Following many months of discussion and review by a working group of traditional finance institutions and crypto-native exchanges and platforms led by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”), ISDA published the Digital Asset Derivatives Definitions (the “Definitions”) on January 26, 2023 for use with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH)

The fallout continued last week for embattled crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg, as Mango Labs filed litigation in the Southern District of New York to recover $47 million Eisenberg drained from decentralized crypto lending platform Mango Markets by manipulating the value of the Mango Markets native token. The lawsuit from Mango Labs is just the latest

Genesis Global’s Chapter 11 filing on January 20th was little surprise to those closely following the cryptocurrency markets and after its decision to “pause” withdrawals in mid-November. Digital Currency Group, Inc. (“DCG”), the parent of Genesis Global Holdco LLC (“Genesis”) and its largest borrower, is not part of the bankruptcy case and instead may

Earlier this month, the SDNY Bankruptcy Court answered one of the gating questions at the center of Celsius Network’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy regarding the ownership of the approximately $4.2 billion in crypto assets.  Celsius account holders had been demanding the return on their crypto deposits in interest-bearing accounts (“Earn Accounts”), while Celsius debtors asserted that

On January 3, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “Federal Banking Regulators” or “Agencies”) issued a Joint Statement (“Joint Statement”) highlighting key risks for banking organizations associated with crypto-assets and the crypto-asset sector. 

The Joint Statement

While legal, regulatory and tax uncertainty continues to affect financial transactions in digital assets, we are seeing incremental guidance developing on US federal taxation issues. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), enacted in 2021, amended provisions in sections 6045 and 6045A to clarify and expand the rules regarding the reporting of information on

John J. Ray, CEO of the FTX debtors will testify tomorrow before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services at a hearing entitled “Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I.”  Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the FTX Group, is scheduled to appear as well, albeit remotely

Mr. Ray’s prepared remarks are available online