SafeMoon files for bankruptcy, sending SFM tumbling

The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Utah

article-image

photo_gonzo/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

SafeMoon filed for bankruptcy in Utah on Thursday.

The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which essentially means that the bankruptcy is focused on liquidation to distribute to creditors. 

In the filing, SafeMoon said that it has property that needs attention including “cryptocurrency, intellectual property and other intangible assets.”

The assets are expected to be worth $10 to $50 million, with anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 in estimated liabilities. 

It listed roughly 50 to 99 creditors in the filing.

The filing comes a little over a month after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a suit against both SafeMoon and some of its top executives. 

Read more: SafeMoon accused of securities fraud in SEC lawsuit

The SEC alleged that Safemoon, creator Kyle Nagy, CEO John Karony and Chief Technology Officer Thomas Smith “perpetrat[ed] a massive fraudulent scheme.”

The US Department of Justice arrested Karony and Smith, though Nagy remains at large, per a press release last month from the department. 

The SEC and DOJ both claim that the executives “misled investors” and used money to buy luxury vehicles — including a “custom Porsche” and multiple McLarens — and luxury real estate.

“Critically, Nagy represented in marketing materials, his white paper, and website that these retained assets would be ‘locked’ and inaccessible for at least four years. Smith and Karony repeated and disseminated these false representations in social media posts and other communications with the public,” the SEC complaint said.

According to data from CoinGecko, SafeMoon’s token (SFM) is down roughly 36% in the past 24 hours, and down 98% from its all time high.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Unlocked Advisory-min.png

Research

This report distills Blockworks Advisory’s research on incentive programs and their analysis, offering a foundation for designing future initiatives and advancing industry-wide standards. By highlighting key lessons and methodologies, we aim to empower protocols to make informed, data-driven decisions.

article-image

Will investors take a 10% lower return to get access to a regulated investment wrapper?

article-image

Brian Armstrong called out the hire of Gurbir Grewal, who had been the SEC’s enforcement division director since 2021

article-image

Certain senators will be interested to learn about Atkins’s private sector business interests, specifically those related to crypto

article-image

Innovative smart debt and collateral features are fueling Fluid’s rise to $1.2 billion TVL, reshaping the Instadapp brand

article-image

Crypto’s liquidity engine is now worth over $300 billion

article-image

Bitcoin Jesus is arguing that the Department of Justice’s tax fraud charges are “unconstitutional”