US BlockFi clients free to withdraw funds after court order

Numerous US-based clients of the defunct crypto lending firm, BlockFi, have reported being able to access their accounts following a directive from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on Aug. 16.

In an update on Aug. 17, BlockFi said it had initiated the withdrawal process for eligible users’ wallets in the US, conforming to the directives of the bankruptcy court, nine months after suspending withdrawals. 

Even so, international users will have to wait longer as legal proceedings are ongoing but may change.

Earlier today, we opened withdrawals of digital assets from BlockFi Wallet accounts for eligible clients in accordance with the authorization provided by the Court in the Wallet Order: https://t.co/wOc3Fk0VpH

— BlockFi (@BlockFi) August 17, 2023

BlockFi said their decision to lift the suspension aligns with the Wallet Order issued by the court, which specifies eligible clients as U.S.-based BlockFi Wallet account holders who met specific criteria, including not withdrawing or transferring over $7,575 worth of digital assets from their BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) or BlockFi Private Client (BPC) since Nov. 2, 2022. Moreover, clients should not have held trade-only assets in their wallets during the Platform Pause on Nov. 10, 2022, at 8:15 P.M. ET. 

 BlockFi also emphasized its priority of facilitating distributions. 

Clients were advised to check their emails or the BlockFi app to determine eligibility. 

In November 2022, BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, indicating it had more than 100,000 creditors with liabilities and assets ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion. 

Their filing follows other notable submissions by FTX, Celsius Network, and Voyager Digital.