Cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi, which declared bankruptcy last November, has received bankruptcy court approval to allow its users to withdraw digital assets.。Earlier on August 18, BlockFi opened the withdrawal service nine months after blocking the feature on its platform.。However, the service is currently only available to U.S. customers.。

BlockFi gets court approval to withdraw

BlockFi disclosed the opening of cryptocurrency withdrawals in an article posted on X, noting that the move "is an important step toward returning funds to customers."。

The company said: "We encourage all customers to check their email or BlockFi app to see if they are currently eligible.。"As the court process progresses, it is expected that more customers, including international customers, will be eligible to withdraw digital assets from wallet accounts."。"

In a court order granting BlockFi, U.S. Judge Michael Kaplan, who handled the cryptocurrency lender's bankruptcy proceedings, noted that the company could enable withdrawals for wallet accounts that received transfers from other non-wallet BlockFi accounts within 90 days before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.。However, accounts that receive more than $7,575 in funds during this period will be exempt.。

BlockFi and FTX contacts

BlockFi was one of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empires (including the once-leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX) that collapsed in November, with others including digital asset lender Genesis, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital.。

BlockFi's troubles began in mid-2022 due to its exposure to the defunct cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital。However, the situation worsened in November as BlockFi stopped making withdrawals on its platform on the grounds that the FTX situation was "unclear."。

Although FTX offered the company a $400 million revolving credit line as part of its rescue plan, the cryptocurrency lender eventually filed for bankruptcy protection in the US state of New Jersey at the end of November.。Days earlier, the troubled FTX had also declared bankruptcy.。

In addition, uncensored financial information uploaded by BlockFi in January reportedly showed that the crypto lending firm had $1.2 billion in exposure to FTX and its sister cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research.。