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The UK has seen the launch of a competition-law based collective action – the equivalent of a class action in other countries – on behalf of an estimated 240,000 investors in the digital assets space.  The claim is brought against four cryptocurrency exchanges: Binance, Bittylicious, Kraken and ShapeShift.  It alleges that those exchanges colluded in…

On August 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) sanctioned virtual currency mixing service Tornado Cash, which OFAC said has been used to launder billions of dollars in virtual currency, including $455 million stolen by the Lazarus Group, a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK”) state-sponsored hacking group…

There is much to report since our last update on Voyager Digital’s bankruptcy case discussed here. 

  • Importantly, the court set a “bar date” with respect to claims arising prior to the petition date.  Proofs of claim, including those with respect to administrative claims arising under section 503(b)(9) of the Bankruptcy Code, must be actually
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Now that their bankruptcy filing is a few weeks behind us, we provide below an update on certain matters of interest in the case of Celsius Networks and its affiliates. Of course, it’s still very early in the bankruptcy case — and in cryptocurrency cases in general — but we have already heard from many distressed…

Celsius Networks (“Celsius”) became the latest cryptocurrency platform to raise market temperatures by halting all withdrawals, swaps and transfers from and between its customers’ accounts on June 12, 2022. Celsius touted a next wave of “unbanking,” operating a lending platform allowing the holders of digital assets the opportunity to earn a significantly high returns on those assets.  Due, in part, to the lack of regulation, Celsius, and other firms like it, retain wide discretion to use of their customers’ assets and, among other things lend those assets to other platforms at higher rates, enter into complex swap and option transactions that bet on price movements, enter into repo or other lending arrangement to increase yield, or invest in other cryptocurrency projects, all without regulatory constraint. Indeed, it was this broad discretion that led, in part, to the downfall of a similarly situated platform, Cred, Inc., and its ultimate bankruptcy discussed here on Restructuring Matters.Continue Reading Celsius Networks’ Warnings Highlight Crypto Bankruptcy Risks

Given the recent media coverage and growing concerns among investors over the risks associated with a bankruptcy filing of a cryptocurrency exchange, it feels timely to highlight some issues that arose in the Chapter 11 cases of Cred Inc. and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Cred”). For more updates on significant bankruptcy, restructuring and insolvency topics, subscribe to Restructuring Matters.Continue Reading Lessons from Recent Cryptocurrency Bankruptcy Case: Cred, Inc.

Institutional investors trading cryptocurrencies generally engage cryptocurrency brokerage firms to manage trade execution, clearing and settlement logistics in the digital asset marketplace, where trading infrastructure remains highly fragmented.

When evaluating a cryptocurrency broker, an investor’s business concerns – like the broker’s technological capacities, fees, security protocols and familiarity with applicable regulatory regimes – should be front and center.  But involving legal counsel is also critical, particularly when negotiating an “account agreement”, “brokerage services agreement”, “master purchase and sale” or other similarly titled agreement that governs the broker’s provision of cryptocurrency trading services and allocation of operational, economic and legal risks between the parties.Continue Reading Cryptocurrency Trading Agreements