Beleaguered Bitfinex Is Back

Bitfinex, one of the largest crypto exchanges, has raised $1 billion in a private token sale, CTO Paolo Ardoino tweeted Monday. The money will help Bitfinex cover for the $850 million it says it can’t currently access. Don’t you just hate when that happens?

It took Bitfinex just 10 days to raise the money via an initial exchange offering (IEO) of Tether, a stablecoin operated by its sister company. According to Ardoino, multiple private companies—“giants in our industry and outside”—invested over $100 million each.

About that $850 million

Last month, the NY Attorney General’s office sued iFinex, Bitfinex’s parent company, alleging it dipped into reserves of Tether to paper over an $850 million loss...and didn't tell customers or corporate clients.

Bitfinex denied the claims, citing troubles with its payment processor Crypto Capital, and said the money was seized by Polish, Portuguese, and U.S. authorities.

Bottom line: It’s tough to know if the money is missing, seized, or both. Either way, Bitfinex’s insolvency issue was just dialed down by $1 billion.