Voyager's auction did not serve depositors' best interests, alleges Wave Financial rep

The assets of crypto brokerage firm Voyager Digital would face a drastically different fate if FTX did not win the bid, claimed a spokesperson of Wave Financial while speaking to Cointelegraph. The spokesperson argued that better bids were on the table, but they “were passed over for strictly cash offers.”

Wave, an SEC-registered digital asset management company with over $1 billion in assets under management (AUM), participated in the auction process, bidding a slightly lower amount than FTX for the assets. FTX secured the winning bid with an amount of $1.4 billion, which must now be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Wave defended its proposal as the only one seeking to maintain the Voyager brand and create a new exchange model that caters to the crypto community, regardless of the financial difference in the bid.

In particular, Wave’s proposal sought to “restore value in the VGX token via new and improved utility, saving $200M worth of funds and redistributing assets back to existing Voyager customers,” and “extend a revenue share program to depositors through the new exchange model, driven by the liquidity and community of leading layer-1 protocols who joined as investors and minority owners.” A Wave spokesperson also noted that:

“Wave was the only remaining bidder during the blind auction process (held the week of September 12 in NYC) that took a “white knight” approach, prioritizing the depositors’ financial interests by restoring value in the VGX token and creating a long-term revenue sharing model — both of which returned substantial equity directly to depositors.”

Following the winning bid, FTX provided limited information regarding how Voyager customers will be able to access their crypto holdings. According to Voyager, information regarding crypto access will be shared as it becomes available.

On July 5, Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a process that allows firms to retain ownership of their assets and continue operating while they restructure or sell the company, following an insolvency worth over $1 billion after crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) defaulted on a $650 million loan.