The owner of crypto exchange Bitfinex, iFinex Inc.,
is considering a share buyback offer of $150 million. This initiative aims to
provide relief to the investors, who were originally compensated with BFX
tokens after Bitfinex suffered a substantial hack in 2016.
According to a report by Bloomberg, this proposal is
equivalent to 9% of iFinex’s outstanding capital and places the company at a
valuation of $1.7 billion. The offer targets shareholders who obtained iFinex’s
stock as part of a swap arrangement with the investment platform BnkToTheFuture
in 2016.
Additionally, the proposed share buyback is driven
by a desire to have more control over the company’s operations, especially with
the increasing regulatory scrutiny in the crypto industry. As the regulators
globally intensify their focus on the sector, this buyback could offer iFinex
greater autonomy and financial flexibility.
Following a hack in 2016 that led to a loss of
approximately $71 million worth of Bitcoin on Bitfinex at the time, the crypto exchange
issued BFX tokens. Subsequently, iFinex redeemed the tokens in exchange