Voyager app set to reopen for customer withdrawals as soon as June 20

3AC

Customers will soon be able to load up the Voyager app and see how much will be available for withdrawal.

Cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital is preparing to reopen its app and allow customers to finally withdraw their funds — nearly one year after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Voyager's bankruptcy plan administrator Paul Hage said in a June 14 court filing that around June 15 the Voyager app would be updated to show the amount available for withdrawal, and estimated that the withdrawal period would start somewhere between June 20 and July 5.

The bankruptcy plan was first approved in court on May 17 and will result in customers initially receiving 35.72% of their claims by withdrawing crypto through the Voyager app or in cash after 30 days.

Voyager Court adjourned for the day
Fee examiners findings approved by the judge
App will come back online on or around 15 June
Estimated window for withdrawals opening 20 June to 5 July
30 days to withdraw once window opens
all creditors will receive 35.72 initial…
— Neville (@neville_p) June 14, 2023

Within the filing, Hage also noted that bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital still owes Voyager $650 million, so while this first tranche of withdrawals allows for just over 35% of customer funds to be withdrawn “the primary focus will shift to recovering additional assets that can be distributed to creditors” once the initial distribution is completed.

Additionally, an extra $445 million of customer funds could also be made available to creditors pending a final resolution of Alameda Research’s preference claim against Voyager, which is not expected to happen until at least mid-September 2023.

Meditation between @investvoyager and @FTX_Official is anticipated to not start until Fall 2023

Anything less than 100% return would be a devastating result for Voyager creditors! pic.twitter.com/Y6IDAOgeT7
— EthDaddy ‍☠️ (@ETHjuiced) June 14, 2023

After originally filing for bankruptcy on July 5, Voyager had submitted two prior bankruptcy plan proposals but both had fallen through.

The first of these was to the United States arm of FTX, FTX.US, but the $1.4 billion deal fell through after FTX filed for bankruptcy.

Subsequently a $1 billion deal with Binance.US also fell through after it backed out on April 25, citing a “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.”

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Voyager received better buy-out offers than FTX’s, set to return 0M to customers

Bankruptcy Court

The crypto lender will be allowed to return a portion of customer funds locked up at the Metropolitan Commercial Bank which have been frozen until now.

Beleaguered crypto lender Voyager Digital Holdings says it has received a number of “higher and better” buy-out offers than that offered by AlamedaFTX back in July, contrary to the investment firm's continued public statements.

The company has also just been cleared to return $270 million of customer funds held at the Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB) by the judge presiding over its bankruptcy proceedings in New York.

In a Second Day Hearing Presentation on Aug. 4, Voyager stated that it has received word from as many as 88 interested parties keen to bailout the company from its financial woes, adding it is in "active discussions" with over 20 potentially interested parties.

One of the most high-profile bids came from Alameda Ventures and FTX in July.

Alameda had proposed to buy all of Voyager’s assets and outstanding loans except the defaulted loan to Three Arrows Capital, then liquidate the assets and distribute funds in USD through the FTX US exchange.

This was rejected by Voyager on July 25 on the grounds that it was not “value-maximizing” for its customers.

The company also noted that it has already received bids through the marketing process that are “higher and better than AlamedaFTX’s proposal," contrary to alleged "inaccurate" public statements from AlamediaFTX.

Source: Voyager Digital Second Day Presentation

Voyager stated that it has also separately sent AlamedaFTX a cease and desist letter regarding its “inaccurate” public statements, confirming that AlamedaFTX does not have a “leg up” on other bidders.

$270M in customer funds returned

News about other interested bidders comes at the same time that U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles has given Voyager the all-clear to return a portion of their customer’s cash deposits.

According to an Aug. 4 report from the Wall Street Journal, Judge Wiles stated that Voyager had provided a “sufficient basis” for its claim that customers should be access to the custodial account held at Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), which is understood to hold $270 million in cash.

[DB] Voyager secures approval to return $270 million in customer cash: WSJ
— db (@tier10k) August 4, 2022

Voyager had funds stashed in the account at the bank when it filed for bankruptcy on July 5. Those funds were frozen when bankruptcy proceedings began.

Voyager Digital CEO Stephen Ehrlich mentioned in July that he intended to return customer funds from MCB as soon as a “reconciliation and fraud prevention process” was completed, and the firm reportedly asked to have the funds in MCB released on July 15.

Voyager’s debt amounts to a sum no greater than $10 billion from roughly 100,000 creditors, but is not the only such brokerage, lender, or investment firm in crypto to have befallen hard times for itself and its users. Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, and others have also been swept up in the ongoing saga.

Voyager Digital Holdings