iFinex Reportedly Suggests $150 Million Share Buyback Plan for Bitfinex Hack Victims

Bitfinex’s Parent Company Offers $150 Million Share Buyback to Hack Victims

Bitfinex’s parent company, iFinex, has announced its plans to buy back $150 million worth of the company’s shares from users who were offered them as compensation for the $71 million hack on the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016. The proposal aims to allow investors to offload their somewhat illiquid investment.

The Background

In 2016, Bitfinex lost approximately 36% of its total user balance, all in Bitcoin (BTC), due to a hack. At the time, the exchange did not have enough cash to compensate users for their losses. Instead, Bitfinex offered recovery-right-tokens (RRT) and equity in the form of iFinex shares as a way to make users whole and fill the gap in their balances caused by the hack. Users were given the choice between RRT tokens or iFinex shares.

The Share Buyback Program

iFinex has proposed a buyback program offering a price of $10 per share to shareholders for the 15 million shares distributed after the hack. This buyback program reflects iFinex’s positive performance in recent years and allows shareholders to sell their shares and recover some liquidity from their investment.

Participation and Deadline

A select group of directors of iFinex and its affiliates are eligible to participate in the buyback program. The agreement states that there is no minimum number of shares required for the buyback to proceed. iFinex is prepared to purchase as many shares as are made available until the maximum amount is reached. Shareholders have until October 24th to decide whether or not they want to sell their shares back to iFinex.

Hot Take: Bitfinex’s Attempt to Provide Closure to Hack Victims

This buyback program by iFinex is a notable effort to provide closure to the victims of the 2016 Bitfinex hack. By offering shareholders the opportunity to sell their shares and recover some liquidity, it gives them the chance to move on from their investment. The positive performance of iFinex in recent years reflects the company’s commitment to improving its financial standing and addressing the concerns of its users.