Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., an offshore entity founded by failed crypto-king Sam Bankman-Fried to hold 55 million shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. which he purchased on behalf of his now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX Group, has filed for bankruptcy amid a fight over who should have legal right to the stock as FTX Group undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.
At current market prices, the Robinhood stake is worth over $590 million. It has been seized by the US government, however the ultimate disposition of the shares is at present, unknown. So far various different parties have tried to lay claim to the stock, including now-bankrupt crypto-lender BlockFi, the Justice Department, and even Bankman-Fried, himself.
Now under Chapter 11 protection, Emergent Fidelity and its court-appointed liquidators can pause to assess its next move.
In a sworn court statement, Angela Barkhouse, one of the court-appointed liquidators said the liquidator’s “duties are to the debtor’s creditors, whoever those creditors may be. Given the many parties claiming to be creditors or outright owners of the debtor’s assets in proceedings in the US, the JPLs believe that Chapter 11 protection is the only practical way to empower the debtor to defend itself, the assets, and its creditors’ interests in the US.”
According to the filing, Emergent Fidelity is holding $20.7 million in cash, however it does not hold any other assets.
The filing also noted that for now Bankman-Fried retains ownership of 90% of the entity, however he no longer has control of it. The remaining 10% is held by FTX co-founder Gary Wang.
The official records of the case can be found under Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., 23-10149, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.