Bitfinex Pays Out First Wave of Customer Refunds

On September 1, Bitfinex reimbursed its first wave of clients. 1.1812 percent of currently outstanding BFX tokens were redeemed by Bitfinex and issued to customer wallets.

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Bitfinex Redeems 1.1812% of Outstanding BFX Tokens

Bitfinex is showing the public that it aims to make its customer’s funds whole again with this first wave of paybacks.

The exchange purchased the tokens at $1 USD per token, roughly double the current market value. The price per BFX has been resting at 50-60 cents and has seen some significant value spikes over the past week.

The Hong Kong exchange’s announcement states:  

We are pleased to announce the redemption of 1.1812% of outstanding BFX tokens.  This redemption was applied pro rata to all wallet balances on September 1, 2016 at 12:00:00 UTC.  The redemption does not apply to margin long or short positions – only on settled wallet balances. The amount of the redemption is based on a calculation of reserves in excess of our required contingent liability reserves, which reflects many factors that unfortunately, we cannot elaborate further upon at this time.  

Additionally, Bitfinex has signed a letter of intent with online investment firm BnkToTheFuture. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide solutions for compensating customers with equity in Bitfinex.

BnkToTheFuture will enable a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) so BFX token holders can acquire equity interest. Simon Dixon, CEO and co-founder of BnkToTheFuture, said “BFX was an innovative approach towards making users whole, and we are working with Bitfinex on several possibilities to accomplish their goals.”

Community Doubtful, While Bitfinex Remains Committed

Many in the Bitcoin community have been doubtful about the BFX plan and how it will all unfold. The redemption of 1.1812 percent of outstanding BFX is a start of the process, but it will take a lot more effort to make the majority of customers whole again.

BitFinex CEO, Jean-Louis van der Velde, stated that the firm is very committed to making customer funds whole:

Our commitment was to get the exchange back online securely so customers know where they stand and to issue all users their BFX tokens. This is now complete and we have enabled trading of BFX tokens. We are committed to releasing updates and reports detailing the events of the hack and a financial update for customers and qualifying investors before we begin any equity conversion and have engaged third parties to complete this process.

BnkToTheFuture’s Simon Dixon says that the community has endured quite a bit over the past eight years. He believes Bitfinex is committed to doing all that they can, but that in times of crisis there typically is no perfect solution.

What do you think about Bitfinex redeeming 1.1812 percent of outstanding BFX tokens? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Bitfinex, BnkToTheFuture, Shutterstock 

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