The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the government agency that provides bank deposit insurance, has taken the unique act of publicly chastising Voyager Digital regarding claims of false statements on deposit insurance status.
Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy protection following the collapse of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) which then defaulted on a $650 million loan from Voyager.
Much of the customer funds were held by Metropolitan Commercial Bank, which posted on its site:
“Metropolitan Commercial Bank maintains an omnibus account specifically designated for the benefit of Voyager customers. The omnibus account holds US Dollars only. It does not hold cryptocurrency or any other asset. Voyager is responsible for maintaining records to determine the ownership and amount of each of its customer’s funds on deposit in the omnibus account.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank is a New York-chartered bank and member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Voyager customer funds held by Metropolitan Commercial Bank are insured by the FDIC up to the maximum amount of coverage per depositor under federal law. The standard FDIC insurance coverage amount is currently $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category.
FDIC insurance coverage is available only to protect against the failure of Metropolitan Commercial Bank.
FDIC insurance does not protect against the failure of Voyager, any act or omission of Voyager or its employees, or the loss in value of cryptocurrency or other assets.”
It appears that someone may not be attributing the FDIC insurance correctly on the Voyager side.
The FDIC states:
According to the agencies, Voyager and certain officers and employees made false representations online, including its website, mobile app, and social media accounts, stating or suggesting that:
- Voyager itself is FDIC–insured;
- Customers who invested with the Voyager cryptocurrency platform would receive FDIC insurance coverage for all funds provided to, and held by, Voyager; and
- The FDIC would insure customers against the failure of Voyager itself.
The FDIC adds that these statements are false and misleading, requesting Voyager cease and desist from making such statements.
The FDIC requests that Voyager respond within two days of receipt of the letter that it has complied with the request and within ten days to provide a complete listing of inaccurate statements.