Ben Strack

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 <ul>
 <li>Babel Finance abruptly suspended withdrawals on June 17 due to “unusual liquidity pressures”</li>
 <li>Houlihan Lokey focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto lender Babel Finance is reportedly hiring US investment bank Houlihan Lokey a few weeks after suspending withdrawals amid liquidity issues.  



The company will be the next major crypto company “getting buy-in from creditors or declaring insolvency or default,” a person familiar with the matter <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/01/troubled-crypto-lender-babel-finance-looking-to-hire-restructuring-specialist-houlihan-lokey-sources/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_campaign=headlines" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told CoinDesk</a>.



A spokesperson for Babel Finance declined to comment. Houlihan Lokey did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.&nbsp;



Babel Finance <a href="https://babel.finance/article-views.html?id=50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abruptly suspended</a> withdrawals on June 17 — citing “unusual liquidity pressures” — similar to competitors <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Celsius</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/finblox-imposes-withdrawal-limit-amid-3acs-uncertainty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Finblox</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinflex-halts-withdrawals-citing-uncertainty-around-unnamed-counterparty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinFLEX</a>. The company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-working-to-ease-unusual-liquidity-pressures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said in a statement last week</a> that it was looking to fulfill its legal responsibilities to customers by continuing “to avoid further transmission and diffusion of liquidity risks.” 



<a href="https://hl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Houlihan Lokey</a> focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation, according to its website.



Launched in 2018, Babel Finance provides institutions, high-net worth accredited investors and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crashing-prices-expose-bitcoin-mining-industrys-addiction-to-leverage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto miners</a> with lending and trading services in bitcoin, ether and stablecoins.



The company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-valued-at-2b-after-latest-fundraise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation</a> in May. Main investors in the round included Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings, as well as existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.



Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/babel-finance-suffers-executive-exits-amid-liquidity-crunch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed this week</a> a slew of firings and voluntary resignations from Babel. Yulong Liu, who served as head of partnerships at the company for nearly three years, and communications director <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wanghweewen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jacynth Wang</a> are among those set to leave.



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