In the past six months, four major players in the crypto space have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection: Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX, and BlockFi, and more may be forthcoming. Together, the debtors in these four bankruptcy cases are beholden to hundreds of thousands of creditors. The bulk of the claims in these cases are customer claims related to cryptocurrency held on the debtors’ respective platforms. These customer claimants deposited or “stored” fiat currency and cryptocurrencies on the debtors’ platforms.

In Sian Participation Corp. (In Liquidation) v- Halimeda International Limited BVIHCMAP2021/00171 ("Sian"), the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal again had occasion to consider (amongst a number of other things) the interrelationship between an arbitration clause in a loan agreement and the Court's jurisdiction to appoint liquidators to a company under the Insolvency Act 2003.

On November 29, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent requests for information to the CEOs of six of the largest crypto exchanges. The requests seek information about the safeguards each exchange has put in place to protect customers’ assets in the event they file for bankruptcy or otherwise experience financial distress.

BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act revisions effective 1 January 2023

Introduction

Introduction

After much anticipation, the UK Supreme Court has handed down its judgment in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana S.A. [2022] UKSC 25 - and has authoritatively set the baseline for how directors’ duties evolve as regards shareholders and creditors’ interests when a company is in the zone of insolvency.

Background

The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (Kawaley J) handed down a recent decision appointing receivers over a segregated portfolio, in the case of In the Matter of Green Asia Restructure Fund SPC[1].

Summary

Where a company's liquidation is necessary, deciding who or where is best placed to administer an orderly wind down for the benefit of creditors can be difficult: the shortfall of assets in an insolvency will highlight jurisdictional differences in approach as to questions of priority, frequently territorial rather than universalist.