EminiFX, Inc. Receivership

EminiFX, Inc. Receivership

Case Number: 22-03822 (VEC)

Southern District of New York
Receivership Finances

This page summarizes the results of the Receiver’s asset recovery and liquidation efforts, including the court-approved Digital Asset Management Protocol (the “Protocol”). The Receiver has recovered over $150 million in cash, assets, and litigation recoveries. All assets have all been liquidated and are being held as cash in interest-bearing accounts.

The interest earned is paid directly to the Receivership’s accounts, and has been tremendously useful in defraying the costs of administering the Receivership. The financial reports of the Receivership Estate through the latest Status Report can be found HERE.

The total assets turned over and liquidated are as follows:

Asset
Amount
    TD Bank
$44,210,018.35
    Bank of America
$14,583,152.54
    Interactive Brokers
$1,752,944.40
    Cash App
$403,139.97
    Office Property
$15,000.00
    Vehicles
$257,929.93
    Digital Assets
$90,090,627.66
Total
$151,312,812.85

The total litigation recoveries to date are as follows:

Type
Amount
    Real Estate
$2,947,400.00
    Other
$506,305.07
Total
$3,453,705.07

April 17, 2023

The Receiver sold the last 700.602 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $20,353,048.46 after commissions of $51,010.15, for an average net price of $29,051 per coin. The price of Bitcoin during this sale period remained increased somewhat, ranging from $27,000 to 31,000, although the price fell back to $29,000 a couple days after the sale was complete.

The receivership paid the $8,846.44 March custodial fee in USD instead of BTC, and total custodial fees of $27,915.65, which have been deducted from the total net proceeds in the Bitcoin sale results table. The proceeds from the sale of digital assets, totaling over $90 million, have been placed in a high-yield interest-bearing account.

The total Bitcoin sales are as follows:

Description Amount (BTC) Net Sale Proceeds Average Net Price
Total BTC turned over 3703.329    
Sale 1/10/2023-1/20/2023 -500.000 $10,062,697.85 $20,125/BTC
Sale 1/24/2023-2/03/2023 -500.000 $11,550,563.53 $23,101/BTC
Sale 2/7/2023-2/17/2023 -500.000 $11,230,634.69 $22,461/BTC
Sale 2/21/2023-3/3/2023 -500.000 $11,757,011.04 $23,514/BTC
Sale 3/7/2023-3/17/2023 -500.000 $11,248,649.15 $22,497/BTC
Sale 3/20/2023-3/30/2023 -500.000 $13,874,501.65 $27,749/BTC
Sale 4/03/2023-4/17/2023 -700.602 $20,353,048.46 $29,051/BTC
Custodial Fees (BTC) -2.727    
Custodial Fees (USD)   -$28,115.65  
TOTAL SALES: $90,048,990.72 $24,316/BTC

March 30, 2023

The Receiver sold the sixth batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $13,874,501.65 after commissions of $34,773.19, for an average net price of $27,749 per coin. After a substantial increase in price at the end of the last sale period, the price of Bitcoin during this sale period was relatively stable, ranging from $26,600 to 28,800, with the average sale price of the sixth batch falling around the midpoint of that range.

In addition, to implement the final stages of the Protocol, the receivership paid the February custodial fee in USD instead of BTC, and expects to do so for the March custodial fee as well. The custodial fee of $19,069.21 has been deducted from the total net proceeds in the Bitcoin sale results table. All of the proceeds from the sale of digital assets have been placed in a high-yield interest-bearing account. The sale period for the remaining 700.602 BTC will be extended by four days to maintain an average trading volume of 50 BTC/day, and will run from Monday, April 3 to Monday, April 17.

March 17, 2023

The Receiver sold the fifth batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $11,248,649.15 after commissions of $28,192.11, for an average net price of $22,497 per coin. The price was highly volatile during the sale period, with Bitcoin dropping below $19,700 on March 10, and in just four days rising over 35% to break above $26,500 on March 14. The impact of recent Bitcoin volatility on this sale was significantly lessened by the gradual sale process set forth in the Protocol. All of the proceeds from the sale of digital assets have been placed in a high-yield interest-bearing account. The sale of the next 500 BTC will begin on Monday, March 20 and is expected to be completed on Thursday, March 30, at the end of a 10-day sale period.

March 10, 2023

The Receiver is aware of the recent decline in the market price of Bitcoin, trading a little over $20,000 at the time of this update, as well as the issues surrounding Silvergate Bank and Silicon Valley Bank. The Receiver has been in contact with the receivership estate’s banking and cryptocurrency partners, and reiterates his statement in the Protocol that “the Receiver’s strategy is not based on a prediction of the future direction or price of Bitcoin” [Dkt. 180, at 5]. Indeed, the price of Bitcoin at the time of this update on March 10 was still well above the price at the time the Protocol was approved, when Bitcoin was trading under $17,000. The Receiver will continue to monitor the situation and the market generally, and he will also continue to implement the Protocol per the Court’s order.

March 3, 2023

The Receiver sold the fourth batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $11,757,011.04 after commissions of $29,466.19, for an average net price of $23,514 per coin. The price remained generally within a $23,000 to $25,000 range throughout most of the sale period, and the drop on March 2-3 did not materially impact the sale of this batch of 500 BTC. Yesterday, Coinbase switched its USD banking partner from Silvergate to Signature Bank, and the first wire transfer from Coinbase to the receivership account using Signature Bank was completed as expected. All of the proceeds from the sale of digital assets have been placed in a high-yield interest-bearing account. The sale of the next 500 BTC will begin on Tuesday, March 7 and is expected to be completed on Friday, March 17, at the end of a 10-day sale period.

February 17, 2023

The Receiver sold the third batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $11,230,634.69 after commissions of $28,146.95, for an average net price of $22,461 per coin. The price remained generally within a $21,500 through $25,000 range throughout the sale period. The sale proceeds have been place in an interest-bearing account. The sale of the next 500 BTC will begin on February 21 and is expected to be completed on Friday, March 3, at the end of a 10-day sale period.

February 14, 2023

The Receiver recovered an additional BTC 23.1909158 from Crypto Exchange 5. Those Bitcoin will be liquidated pursuant to the Digital Asset Management Protocol, as stated in footnote 2 of the Receiver’s initial application.

February 3, 2023

The Receiver sold the second batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $11,550,563.53 after commissions of $28,948.78, for an average net price of $23,101 per coin. The price generally remained stable throughout the sale period. The sale proceeds have been placed in an interest-bearing account. The sale of the next 500 BTC will begin on February 7 and is expected to be completed on Friday, February 17, at the end of a 10-day sale period.

January 23, 2023

The Receiver sold the first batch of 500 BTC pursuant to the Protocol, for a total of $10,062,697.85 after $35,343.15 in commission, for an average net price of $20,125 per coin. Because the Bitcoin was sold under the TWAP method, the estate was able to take advantage of the recent price increase in Bitcoin. The sale proceeds have been placed in an interest-bearing account. The sale of the next 500 BTC will begin tomorrow and is expected to be completed on Friday, February 3, at the end of a 10-day sale period.

January 12, 2023

The Receiver recovered an additional $20,100 of unused retainer.

January 10, 2023

The Receiver sold the Liquid Non-Bitcoin Assets pursuant to the Protocol. Those funds have been placed in an interest-bearing account. The value of the remaining illiquid digital assets in the receivership account is less than $0.12. The Receiver also moved BTC 500 from the Custodial Account to the Prime Brokerage Account, and he instructed the broker to sell that BTC 500 over a 10-day period, as set forth in the Protocol.

Digital Asset Symbol Amount Sold Net Proceeds
Litecoin LTC 44.9932 $3,305.91
Orchid Token OXT 17,608 $1,196.11
Decentraland MANA 6,234.10 $1,983.50
Dogecoin DOGE 299,756.50 $21,528.29
Shiba Inu SHIB 1,338,198,877 $11,319.55
Gala GALA 470 $8.39
Ethereum ETH 1.8455138 $2,295.19
Total Proceeds  $41,636.94

January 4, 2023

The Court approved the Receiver’s Proposed Digital Asset Management Protocol. The Court expressed sympathy, shared by the Receiver, “to the concerns of EminiFx users that their investments have, on net, lost value as the price of Bitcoin has fallen,” but explained that “this loss highlights the riskiness of Bitcoin as an investment vehicle and demonstrates the need to move these highly volatile digital assets into dollar-denominated, low-risk assets.” You can download a copy of the full opinion and order HERE.

December 31, 2022

The Receiver recovered $357,200 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of December, for a total of $2,330,400 recovered to date.

December 23, 2022

The Receiver filed a reply to the EminiFX users’ responses to the Proposed Protocol. You can download a copy HERE.

December 22, 2022

The CFTC filed a reply to the EminiFX users’ responses to the Proposed Protocol.  You can download a copy HERE.

December 21, 2022

The Receiver filed a compendium of the EminiFX users’ responses to the Proposed Protocol.  The Receiver appreciates all EminiFX users who took the time to send in comments.  You can download a copy HERE.

December 9, 2022

The Receiver filed a proposed Digital Asset Management Protocol (the “Proposed Protocol”) with the Court.  In this filing, the Receiver proposes a protocol for how to sell those digital assets in a responsible and carefully managed manner, after consulting with his financial advisor and the trading desk of the estate’s Prime Broker. You can download a copy HERE.

November 30, 2022

The Receiver recovered $474,000 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of November, for a total of $1,973,200 recovered to date.

The Receiver turned over, in addition to the digital assets recovered, $403,139.97 from the EminiFX CashApp accounts.

The Receiver also completed the liquidation of all vehicles recovered, net of liens and including DMV registration refunds, for a total of $243,929.93 in the General Receivership Estate and $14,000 in the Alexandre Assets Account.

November 20, 2022

The Receiver – with the consent and cooperation of Mr. Alexandre – has completed taking possession of the vast majority of EminiFX’s digital assets (also known as cryptocurrency), valued at over $60 million at the time of transfer. The status report discussing those turnovers can be found HERE.

October 31, 2022

The Receiver recovered $714,000 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of October, for a total of $1,499,200 recovered to date.

September 30, 2022

The Receiver recovered $70,000 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of September, for a total of $785,200 recovered to date.

The Receiver recovered an additional $176,905.97 in deposits from other sources during the month of September.

August 31, 2022

The Receiver recovered $140,000 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of August, for a total of $715,200 recovered to date.

August 9, 2022

The Receiver recovered $306,000 office space deposit, without prejudice to the counterparty’s right to file a claim or to any of the Receiver’s defenses as to such claim.

July 31, 2022

The Receiver recovered $356,200 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of July, for a total of $575,200 recovered to date.

July 13, 2022

The Receiver received $15,000 from the sale of office property, maintained in the Receivership Estate Alexandre Assets Account. The value from the sale also included all moving and storage expenses, estimated at least $25,000, as well as saving on rent for the July office space, which was over $100,000.

July 6, 2022

The Receiver turned over $1,752,944.40 in cash from certain Alexandre Interactive Brokers accounts to the Receivership Estate Alexandre Assets Account.

June 30, 2022

The Receiver recovered $219,000 in deposits from EminiFX real estate transactions during the month of June.

The Receiver recovered an additional $535,000 deposit from an additional property, which is being maintained separately in the Alexandre Assets account, and without prejudice to the counterparty’s right to file a claim or to any of the Receiver’s defenses as to such claim.

The Receiver recovered an additional $3,300 parking deposit.

June 28, 2022

The Receiver turned over $14,583,152.24 in cash from certain EminiFX Bank of America accounts to the Receivership Estate.

June 21, 2022

The Receiver turned over $6,716,092.43 in cash from certain Alexandre TD Bank accounts to the Receivership Estate Alexandre Assets Account.

June 1, 2022

The Receiver turned over $37,493,925.92 in cash from certain EminiFX TD Bank accounts to the Receivership Estate.