State Regulators Intensify Scrutiny of Voyager: Report

Securities regulators in Texas and Alabama announced today that they are expanding their investigations into Voyager following the emergence of new information after the collapse of the exchange.

“What we’re seeing now is that a lot of these crypto-lending firms may not have fully disclosed what they were doing on the backside with investors’ money,” Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board, told Bloomberg. “The risks associated with those types of lending practices, or even the other types of transactions they are engaging in.”

The news service reported that state officials are examining whether Voyager properly disclosed material information on its loans and the creditworthiness of the borrowers.

Regulators in Texas, Alabama, and New Jersey have each opened investigations into crypto exchanges Voyager Digital Ltd. and Celsius Network Ltd. after the firms froze customer withdrawals last month.

On Tuesday, Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, causing the publicly traded company’s stock to plummet nearly 12%. On the subsequent trading day, trading of the stock was halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange after its price fell 26% to $0.26.

Not even a $500 million bailout by Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research last month could slow Voyager’s implosion. Voyager’s bankruptcy filing revealed that Alameda Research owed Voyager $377 million.

According to Bloomberg, regulators were also investigating yield-product offerings at Voyager and Celsius, including whether they were unregistered securities. Both crypto-firms touted exceptionally high rates of return, such as 12% and 17%, respectively.

Both companies are still promoting these rates on their websites.

“We are investigating these companies and trying to figure out what happened and why,” Amanda Senn, chief deputy director at the Alabama Securities Commission, told Bloomberg. “We are making inquiries. It’s still the initial stages, but we have a responsibility on behalf of our investors in our states.”