Hodlnaut Hunts for Buyer, Creditors Want Liquidation
Following creditors’ rejection of proposed restructuring plan, Hodlnaut tries to salvage what’s left of the distressed crypto lender’s business
Source: Shutterstock / MOLPIX, modified by Blockworks
Interim judicial managers of distressed Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut have begun fielding inquiries from prospective buyers and its claims against bankrupt exchange FTX.
The managers are reportedly negotiating non-disclosure agreements with the buyers, Bloomberg reported Monday, without naming who those buyers are.
It follows a little under three weeks since the rejection of a proposed restructuring plan was floated to creditors, who are instead pushing for the lender’s liquidation.
Hodlnaut, which also has operations in Hong Kong, owes roughly $160 million to various creditors representing 62% of its outstanding debt, per the report.
Around 72% of Hodlnaut’s digital assets deployed to centralized exchanges are held on FTX including 514 bitcoin, 1,395 ether, as well as about 1,000 FTT tokens and 280,000 USDC.
FTT, the native token of FTX, has shed roughly 94% of its value following the exchange’s collapse at the start of November. That means creditors are only able to claim pennies on the dollar of FTT’s original value.
Some of those creditors include the Algorand Foundation, Hodlnaut’s custodian Samtrade, S.A.M. Fintech and software engineer Jean-Marc Tremeaux. All four did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lender fell on hard times midway through last year, opting to freeze withdrawals, token swaps and deposits in what it viewed as an attempt to stabilize liquidity and preserve assets.
A week later, Hodlnaut slashed its headcount by 80%, or roughly 40 employees, attempting to lower expenses with those staying behind tasked with carrying out its key functions.
Its decision to reduce its workforce also came amid an investigation by Singapore police into the lender and its directors’ dealings with a “certain digital token” for potential cheating and fraud offenses.
At the time, Singapore police issued an order for Hodlnaut to hand over its balance assets, which totaled $127 million worth of stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).
A Hodlnaut spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
- Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
- Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
- Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
- The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
