FTX Will Acquire Bankrupt Voyager Digital Assets for $1.4 Billion

Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange has won the auction for the assets of bankrupt digital assets lender Voyager Digital.

FTX made the highest bid which was valued at $1.42 billion according to the Sept. 26 announcement. The auction process lasted two weeks and was “highly competitive,” it added.

The bid comprised the fair market value of all Voyager’s crypto asset holdings at a to-be-determined date in the future. This is estimated to be around $1.31 billion at current market prices. There has also been additional consideration for an estimated incremental value of $111 million.

Voyager’s bankruptcy estate includes claims against Three Arrows Capital (3AC) which will be distributed to creditors on recovery, the announcement stated.

FTX exchange’s crypto expansion

The purchase agreement goes to court for approval on Oct. 19 after which, customers will be able to transfer to the FTX.US exchange.

According to Voyager, the FTX bid “maximizes value and minimizes the remaining duration of the Company’s restructuring.” This is achieved by providing a “clear path forward for the Debtors to consummate a chapter 11 plan and return value to their customers and other creditors,” it added.

SBF’s company has made several attempts to buy out or bail out the embattled Voyager. FTX and Alameda made a joint bid for Voyager in July but it was rejected as a “low-ball” offer.

Voyager Digital suspended trading, deposits, and withdrawals on July 1 blaming 3AC for defaulting on a 15,250 Bitcoin and $350 million USDC loan. Alameda has also borrowed around $200 million in BTC and ETH which it has been ordered to repay by the end of September.

According to Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the deal, FTX is in the process of raising a $1 billion funding round.

SBF has been aggressively buying up distressed crypto companies during this bear market. According to CrunchBase, Hong Kong-based Alameda has made 180 investments — the most recent on Sept. 22 when 3Commas raised $37 million.

FTT Price Reaction

The FTX native token, FTT, has reacted strongly to the latest acquisition news gaining 6% on the day according to CoinGecko. At the time of writing, FTT was trading at $24.89, however, the token has lost 70% since its all-time high this time last year.

Crypto markets in general are up 4.6% on the day which has pushed total capitalization just over the trillion-dollar level once again. The overall outlook remains bearish, however.