PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Potential Buyout Deal of Crypto Lender Salt Falls Through After FTX Collapse

Salt Lending, blockchain

Bitcoin and crypto securities firm Bnk To The Future has terminated its previously announced effort to acquire crypto-backed lending platform Salt Lending, citing fallout from the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX. 

“Bnk To The Future (the ‘Company’) announces that its previously announced non-binding letter of intent with SALT Blockchain, Inc. (SALT) has terminated due to SALT’s position with FTX and for failing Bnk To The Future’s Due Diligence, and that the transactions contemplated thereby will not proceed,” Bnk To The Future wrote Tuesday (Nov. 15) in a blog post on its website. 

“Bnk To The Future has not been impacted from neither SALT nor FTX as Bnk To The Future has no direct or indirect connection with SALT or FTX and all client funds are fully segregated and uninvested,” the company added in the post. 

Salt Lending did not immediately respond to PYMNTS’ request for comment. 

As PYMNTS reported Sept. 6, Bnk To The Future signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Salt Lending in a deal that aimed to result in a regulatory-compliant solution for customers impacted by the crypto lending crisis. 

The deal would have seen one of the first bitcoin and securities businesses acquire one of the initial crypto lending platforms. Aside from the experience in their respective fields, both companies have expertise operating advanced securities and lending technology. 

Bnk To The Future, which is headquartered in Cayman Islands and was founded in 2011, aims to offer qualifying investors the opportunity to invest in the companies and products that are building the future of finance. 

Salt Lending, which is based in Denver, Colorado, and was founded in 2016 by director Benjamin Yablon and other bitcoin enthusiasts, develops data, index and exchange-traded fund products to help traders and investors enhance, measure and customize their portfolios. 

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PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024