Bitfinex’s parent company considers $150 mln share buyback

• iFinex has proposed to buy back 15 million Bitfinex shares at a rate of $10 per share.
• The latest move is an attempt to consolidate itself in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, the parent company of crypto exchange Bitfinex, Hong Kong based iFinex, has proposed a share buyback of $150 million. iFinex shares its board members with major stablecoin issuer Tether [USDT] Holdings.

iFinex has proposed to buy back 15 million Bitfinex shares at a rate of $10 per share. The sum represents approximately 9% of iFinex’s total outstanding capital. It establishes the company’s valuation at approximately $1.7 billion.

The proposal does, however, include a precondition: iFinex must first get a large financial inflow from one or more of its subsidiary businesses.

The details

The offer is open to shareholders who bought iFinex stock through a 2016 swap agreement with the investment platform BnkToTheFuture. That year, Bitfinex experienced a hack resulting in the theft of around $71 million in Bitcoin [BTC]. The current value of the lost funds stands at approximately $3.3 billion.

Bitfinex compensated affected users with BFX tokens, which iFinex eventually traded for shares in its company via BnkToTheFuture.

The buyback offer is open until 24 October, and there is no minimum share requirement for the transaction to continue.

The proposed buyback would provide an avenue for investors to address and support Bitfinex Group’s burgeoning regulatory needs. Additionally, it offers a lucrative exit strategy for investors from a non-liquid investment.

Both Tether and Bitfinex have both previously skirted regulatory difficulties. Both of them faced a $42.5 million fine issued by the U.S. administration in 2021. The allegations stemmed from Tether’s alleged misinformation about the reserves backing its USDT stablecoin as well as Bitfinex’s alleged services to U.S. clients without the necessary permits.

The latest move is considered as an attempt to solidify its private operations in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector. The spotlight has shifted to crypto projects, with regulators across the world aggressively targeting companies that operate outside of regulatory systems.