Hodlnaut founders propose selling the firm instead of liquidation

The founders of the troubled cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut are trying to save the business despite creditors insisting on its liquidation.

On Feb. 28, Hodlnaut’s interim judicial managers released the sixth affidavit of Hodlnaut co-founder Simon Lee, reportedly stating the company’s founders proposed selling the business as a better option for creditors than liquidating the firm.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Lee said that he and Hodlnaut’s other co-founder Zhu Juntao have reached out to several “potential white knight investors.”

Lee reportedly wrote that Hodlnaut co-founders are confident the company’s user base “can be acquired and on-boarded on digital-asset platforms owned or affiliated to such investors.” He declared that such a business transaction would “maximize” value for creditors.

The affidavit further reaffirms Hodlnaut’s willingness to sell the firm as the company worked with several potential investors to sell its business and other assets. A number of potential buyers reportedly inquired about purchasing Hodlnaut and its claims against the collapsed crypto exchange FTX as of early February.

The news comes shortly after key Hodlnaut creditors, including Algorand Foundation, in January rejected a restructuring plan offer allowing the current directors to oversee the firm’s operations during the restructuring phase. The creditors argued that the restructuring would do no help and it was in their best interest to liquidate the firm’s remaining assets.

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As of December 2022, Hodlnaut Group owed $160.3 million — or 62% of outstanding debt — to companies and entities like Algorand, Samtrade Custodian, S.A.M. FinTech and Jean-Marc Tremeaux.

Once a major crypto lending platform, Hodlnaut was forced to suspend services in August 2022 due to a lack of liquidity triggered by the bear market in 2022. Hodlnaut’s operations were further breached by the firm’s significant exposure to the collapsed FTX exchange, with the firm having more than 500 Bitcoin (BTC) stuck on Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange.

The news comes amid another troubled crypto lender, Voyager Digital, announcing on Feb. 28 that customers voted for a restructuring plan with Binance’s United States-based business, Binance.US. In December 2022, Binance.US disclosed an agreement to buy Voyager’s assets for $1.02 billion.