Voyager Digital, the New York-based centralized finance (CeFi) platform, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022 after it failed to secure a new line of credit. The company, which provides cryptocurrency trading services for retail and institutional investors, had been struggling with mounting debt and declining user growth.
Since then, Voyager has been seeking ways to raise capital and pay off its creditors. According to recent reports, the company has turned to Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, to sell off some of its assets and raise cash.
On-chain data from Lookonchain, an independent analytics firm, suggest that Voyager has sent at least $100 million in USDC to Coinbase in the last three days. The transfers, which started on February 24, included a mix of cryptocurrency tokens, such as Ether, Shiba Inu, and Chainlink.
Despite the sell-off, Voyager still holds a substantial amount of crypto assets, with a total value of nearly $530 million. The majority of its holdings are in Ether, which is currently worth around $1,500 per coin, and Shiba Inu, a meme-inspired token that has gained a cult following among retail investors.
However, the fate of Voyager’s remaining assets is uncertain. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised concerns about the company’s financial stability and recently objected to Binance.US’ proposed acquisition of over $1 billion in assets belonging to Voyager.
The SEC argued that Binance.US, which is a subsidiary of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, had failed to demonstrate that it could adequately safeguard the assets and protect the interests of Voyager’s creditors.
The move by Voyager to sell its assets through Coinbase has sparked speculation among industry analysts about the future of centralized finance and the role of crypto exchanges in providing liquidity for struggling platforms.
While the crypto market has seen a resurgence in investor interest and rising valuations for major tokens, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the fate of smaller players like Voyager remains uncertain. The company’s bankruptcy filing and subsequent asset sales highlight the risks and challenges of operating in the rapidly evolving and volatile world of cryptocurrency trading.