Market News

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto broker Voyager Digital Ltd. is temporarily suspending trading, deposits and withdrawals due to difficult market conditions, amid a deepening meltdown in beleaguered cryptocurrency markets. 

The suspension, which started at 2 p.m. in New York, also applies to its loyalty rewards program, Voyager said in a statement Friday. 

“This was a tremendously difficult decision, but we believe it is the right one given current market conditions,” said Stephen Ehrlich, chief executive officer of Voyager. “This decision gives us additional time to continue exploring strategic alternatives with various interested parties while preserving the value of the Voyager platform.” 

New York-based Voyager, which offers crypto trading, staking -- a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies -- and yield products, is among the companies that have taken a hit amid the fallout from Three Arrows Capital Ltd.’s liquidity problems. It earlier received a credit line from Alameda Research, Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm.

Voyager plunged as much as 43% in US trading following the news, making it one of the worst-performing crypto stocks. Shares of the firm’s main listing in Canada were not trading due to the Canada Day holiday on Friday.

Last month, Voyager issued a notice of default to Three Arrows Capital on a loan worth roughly $675 million. It’s actively pursuing recovery from the troubled crypto hedge fund, including through the court-ordered liquidation process in the British Virgin Islands.

It has engaged Moelis & Co. and the Consello Group as financial advisers, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal adviser.