Voyager Digital was ‘no better than a house of cards’ — CFTC commissioner

1 year ago

CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson’s comments came aft abstracted lawsuits from the CFTC and FTC were filed against Voyager and its erstwhile CEO, Stephen Ehrlich.

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Voyager Digital was ‘no amended  than a location   of cards’ — CFTC commissioner

A commissioner for the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has slammed Voyager Digital for its mistakes that yet led to the nonaccomplishment of billions of dollars successful lawsuit funds.

Statement of @CFTCjohnson regarding @cftc's charges against Voyager's main enforcement officer. Learn more: https://t.co/OiBvOoCuV6

— CFTC (@CFTC) October 12, 2023

In an Oct. 12 statement, Commissioner Kristin Johnson took aim at Voyager for misleading practices, ignoring informing signs and “bare-bones owed diligence,” which failed to support customers.

“Because of Voyager’s failures, the institution became nary amended than a location of cards.”

The commodities commissioner said Voyager turned a unsighted oculus to what its subsidiary concern firms were doing with its ain lawsuit funds:

“It is astounding that Voyager failed to exert unit connected the firms wherever it invested its customers’ assets.”

“Instead of demanding that concern firms that received lawsuit assets connection greater levels of transparency, Voyager shirked the long-established expectations for custodians and simply dispatched lawsuit funds with small effort to sphere the same,” she added.

Johnson’s comments came aft the regulator, on with the Federal Trade Commission, filed parallel lawsuits against Voyager’s erstwhile CEO, Stephen Ehrlich on Oct. 12.

The CFTC suit alleges Ehrlich and Voyager conducted fraud and “registration failures” implicit its level and its “unregistered commodity pool.”

It has been frustrating watching tons of evident malfeasance happening successful crypto onshore and enforcement actions lone people low-rent comparatively tiny scam operations portion the manufacture was gathering concern standard predation machines.

This is not that pattern!

— Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) October 12, 2023

The FTC, connected the different hand, reached a projected colony with Voyager, banning the steadfast from offering, selling oregon promoting immoderate merchandise oregon work that could beryllium utilized to deposit, exchange, put oregon retreat immoderate assets, according to an Oct. 12 statement.

Voyager and its affiliates agreed to a judgement of $1.65 billion, which volition spell toward repaying customers successful the bankruptcy proceedings.

Meanwhile, a abstracted Oct. 12 statement from CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham said the regulator volition proceed to prosecute enactment against cryptocurrency firms that misuse lawsuit funds:

“There is simply a important quality betwixt managing capitalist wealth for the intent of trading derivatives, and taking deposits and providing loans to others. Without financing and user credit, our system would grind to a halt.”

Related: CFTC issues $54M default judgement against trader successful crypto fraud strategy

However, Pham thinks the CFTC whitethorn person stepped extracurricular the bounds of its authorization successful interpreting what constitutes a commodity excavation operator:

“Such an mentation is an overreach beyond our statutory authorization and would disrupt well-established ineligible and regulatory frameworks for lending to institutions and user finance.”

On Sept. 7, Pham called for the CFTC to found a cryptocurrency regulatory aviator programme that would code the risks retail investors face.

Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy successful July 2022, wherever it indicated that it whitethorn beryllium anyplace betwixt $1 cardinal and $10 cardinal successful assets to much than 100,000 creditors.

The cryptocurrency brokerage steadfast opened withdrawals for customers successful June.

Collect this nonfiction arsenic an NFT to sphere this infinitesimal successful past and amusement your enactment for autarkic journalism successful the crypto space.

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