--- title: "Man Loses Down Payment for House When Crypto Exchange Goes Bankrupt" description: "Crypto exchange Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy, and according to the paperwork, most customers likely won't be getting their money back." date: "2022-07-08" modified: "2022-07-08" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-loses-down-payment-crypto-exchange-bankrupt" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "crypto" - "crytocurrency" - "the digest" - "web3" --- # Man Loses Down Payment for House When Crypto Exchange Goes Bankrupt ![Crypto exchange Voyager Digital has filed for bankruptcy, and according to the paperwork, most customers likely won't be getting their money back.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## That's Bad Crypto broker Voyager Digital is the latest Web3 titan to fall in the wake of an [industry-wide crypto crash]() — and the ship isn't going down without its crew and passengers. The company has filed for bankruptcy — and [most customers]() likely won't be getting their money back, either, *[Bloomberg reports]()*. Take Telvin Hodo, for instance, a 29-year-old teacher who used Voyager to invest roughly $10,000 in several currencies, including alleged [stablecoins](). The busted exchange has effectively swallowed that cash, which he says he needs to for a down payment and closing costs on his new house. "It's terrible," he told *Bloomberg*. "I can't buy or sell, and I don't know how long it's going to be before I can." The fractured trading platform — which, according *Bloomberg*, held about $1.3 billion in digital assets — has joined the [growing number]() of exchanges that have [halted withdrawals](). And while this might not be the end of the world for wealthier investors, these losses are seriously impacting everyday folks who trusted Voyager and others with important savings — not that we'd ever recommend following their lead. ## Well Run Dry Voyager's [bankruptcy suit]() sheepishly claims that customers will be "impaired" by the proceedings. The company [allegedly plans on]() granting users a mish-mash of stock options, deposited coins, and company tokens in lieu of fiat currency. Voyager is also promising to pass on any future cash recovered from imploded crypto hedge fund [Three Arrows Capital]() to customers — but as the also-bankrupt firm [currently owes Voyager $650 million](), that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. "It feels like I was robbed," Aaron Selenica, a 21-year-old student, who was also invested in Voyager, told *Bloomberg*. Selenica explained to the publication that he'd invested about $15,000 in the platform after it was advertised to him at university basketball games. Once a [staunch believer]() in the future of digital coins, Selenica seems to have turned his back on the fraught market for good. "I just don't understand how this could be legal," he added. "I'm not going to invest on another platform. I'm done with crypto." **READ MORE:** [*'I'm Done With Crypto': Voyager Bankruptcy Rocks True Believers*]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on the cryptocrash:** [*Bitcoin Just Had Its Worst Month in Crypto's Entire History* ]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()