Cork Gully achieves rapid Crypto Asset Recovery and distribution in Yield App Liquidation
Cork Gully is pleased to announce significant progress in the liquidation of Yield App, a Seychelles-based crypto platform. Within six months of their appointment, Liquidators Stephen Cork and Hadley Chilton successfully executed a sophisticated cross-border strategy, recovering and distributing 74% of the estate’s assets to creditors in cryptocurrency.
Yield App, launched in February 2021, and had aimed to capitalise on the burgeoning cryptocurrency and DeFi market. The platform was to combine portfolio management with traditional risk strategies, attracting 105,000 registered users and managing assets totalling US$550 million. However, following the collapse of FTX and subsequent issues with third party investment managers, Yield App faced critical liquidity challenges, ultimately leading to its liquidation.
On 1 July 2024, Stephen Cork and Hadley Chilton of Cork Gully were appointed Liquidators of Yield App. At the time of liquidation, Yield App owed its global creditors US$236 million.
Stephen Cork, Partner, Cork Gully said:
“The situation at Yield App presented a distinctive set of challenges. The need for rapid action, combined with the complexities of recovering and distributing crypto assets across international jurisdictions, demanded a highly specialised approach.”
Leveraging their deep understanding of the crypto landscape and extensive cross-border experience, the Cork Gully team swiftly implemented a strategy focused on:
- Cross-Border Enforcement: Actively pursuing and recovering crypto assets held in various jurisdictions.
- Efficient Asset Realization: Managing recovered assets, evaluating and establishing a distribution methodology, and converting assets into distributable funds.
- Transparent Communication: Keeping creditors highly informed and engaged throughout the process.
This proactive approach enabled the Liquidators to make an early interim distribution of 14 cents in the US$, releasing 74% of the estate’s assets, within just six months of their appointment. This distribution was particularly noteworthy as it was conducted entirely in cryptocurrency, demonstrating Cork Gully’s proficiency in handling digital assets.
Hadley Chilton, Partner, Cork Gully said:
“Our team’s experience, both in crypto and in multi-jurisdictional insolvency cases, was crucial to achieving this rapid distribution. We understand the intricacies of complex mandates and the importance of acting decisively to protect creditor interests.”
Cork Gully’s appointment was driven by their established reputation and proven track record in complex international mandates, coupled with their specific expertise in handling crypto assets.
The liquidation of Yield App is ongoing. The Liquidators’ current strategy focuses on recovering all outstanding assets due from investment managers and pursuing asset recovery actions, while maintaining open communication with creditors, ultimately to ensure that the residual value in the liquidation is collected and distributed in an orderly and compliant manner as quickly as possible.
