Major cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has becomes that latest lender to filed for bankruptcy, following the implosion of putative acquirer FTX.
In a court filing, New Jersey-based BlockFi said it owed money to more than 100,000 creditors. It listed crypto exchange FTX as its second-largest creditor, with $275m owed on a loan extended earlier this year. The company also said in a separate filing it plans to lay off two-thirds of its 292 employees.
The filing in a New Jersey court comes as crypto prices have plummeted. The price of bitcoin , the most popular digital currency by far, is down more than 70% from a 2021 peak.
New Jersey-based BlockFi, founded by fintech executive-turned-crypto entrepreneur Zac Prince, said in a bankruptcy filing that its substantial exposure to FTX created a liquidity crisis. FTX, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for protection in the United States this month after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days and rival exchange Binance abandoned a rescue deal.