BlockFi reached an agreement with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX US division for a revolving line of credit and potential acquisition. It represents a total value of $680 million.
Zac Prince, the CEO of BlockFi, tweeted that FTX has the option to acquire BlockFi at a variable price of up to $240 million based on performance triggers. However, it marks a significant decrease in the value of BlockFi. The New Jersey-based company, as per PitchBook, was worth $4.8 billion.
It should be noted that FTX increased a previous $250 million revolving credit facility to a total of $400 million. BlockFi’s executives said they had not drawn on this credit facility to date. They highlighted that the company continued to operate all its products and services normally. BlockFi agreed to a deal with FTX because of the current crypto market volatility and the collapse of Three Arrows Capital (3AC). It also highlighted the fall of crypto firm Celsius owing to extreme market conditions.
BlockFi suffered $80 million in losses – this is a small fraction of losses publicly reported by other lenders. It said losses with the hedge fund will be part of Three Arrow’s ongoing bankruptcy case. Prince said BlockFi realizes that there is a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the crypto markets. But the company sees a healthy ecosystem on the rise. The executive brushed off rumors about BlockFi being exposed to bad debt from Celsius. However, he confirmed that the company did sustain an $80 million loss from the forced liquidation of 3AC.
