Crypto brokerage Voyager Digital files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

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Beleaguered crypto brokerage Voyager Digital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the latest casualty of chaos in digital asset markets.

Voyager commenced bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, according to a filing from the company. The filing lists assets of between $1 billion and $10 billion, and liabilities in the same range.

In a statement, the company said it has roughly $1.3 billion of crypto on its platform and holds over $350 million in cash on behalf of customers at New York's Metropolitan Commercial Bank.

Voyager suffered huge losses from its exposure to crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which went bust last week after defaulting on loans from a number of firms in the industry — including $650 million from Voyager.

«We strongly believe in the future of the industry but the prolonged volatility in the crypto markets, and the default of Three Arrows Capital, require us to take this decisive action,» Voyager CEO Stephen Ehrlich said in a tweet early Wednesday.

The Toronto-listed firm's shares have lost nearly 98% of their value since the start of 2022.

Voyager says it is still pursuing the recovery of funds from Three Arrows Capital, or 3AC as it's otherwise known, including through court-supervised proceedings in the British Virgin Islands and New York.

Last week, Voyager paused all withdrawals, deposits and trading on its platform due to «current market conditions.» Ehrlich at the time said Voyager was seeking additional time to explore «strategic alternatives with various interested parties.»

Several other firms, including Celsius, Babel Finance and Vauld, have taken similar steps. On Tuesday, Vauld received