BlockFi Accidentally Reveals $1.2B Assets Tied To Bankman-Fried's FTX And Alameda Research

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi inadvertently revealed its $1.2 billion exposure to the now-bankrupt crypto businesses FTX and Alameda Research, crypto companies founded by the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried.

BlockFi and its eight affiliates that filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 were just some of the casualties of the spectacular meltdown of the once most trusted brand in the cryptocurrency space, FTX.

Now, documents that were mistakenly uploaded revealed that BlockFi's exposure to FTX is far greater than what was previously disclosed to the public. This revelation came after filings that had been previously redacted were mistakenly uploaded Tuesday without the redactions.

The unredacted filings revealed that as of Jan. 14, BlockFI had $415.9 million worth of assets linked to FTX and a loan to FTX's sister company Alameda Research amounting to a whopping $831.3 million.

BlockFi lawyers previously said that the crypto lender's exposure to Alameda Research was valued at $671 million and an additional $355 million digital assets frozen in FTX, but with the recent price rally of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the value of these holdings have risen.

The previously redacted financial details were part of the presentation prepared by M3 Partners, the advisor to the creditor committee program, which admitted that the unredacted filing was mistakenly uploaded.

The redacted documents also showed the creditor committee's objection to BlockFi's intention to pay key employees $12.3 million in retention payments despite its current financial health.

BlockFi's collapse was triggered by its exposure to the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2022.

FTX offered a rescue plan to BlockFi in the form of a $400 million revolving credit facility, but FTX's loss of liquidity due to its implosion caused the elimination of the previous deal and eventually the filing for bankruptcy of the crypto lender.

On Nov. 28, BlockFi sued Emergent Fidelity, another Bankman-Fried's holding company, and sought the collateral that FTX had pledged to pay on Nov. 9, which included shares in Robinhood, an online brokerage.

On that same day, BlockFi filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the meltdown of FTX for its financial issues.

"As part of our restructuring efforts, we will focus on recovering all obligations owed to BlockFi by counterparties, including FTX," BlockFi said in a tweet at the time, adding that "acting in the best interest of our clients is our top focus and continues to guide our path forward. Chapter 11 is a transparent process and we will continue to communicate with our clients to ensure they hear directly from us."

Based on the recently released financials, the value of Alameda Research's loan receivable and assets linked to FTX was adjusted to $0. Following the adjustments, BlockFi was left with $1.3 billion in assets, $668.8 million of which was declared as "liquid/to be distributed," CNBC reported.