Prime Trust, a firm that bridged the crypto industry’s banking access and stored its assets, filed for bankruptcy protection late Monday, after facing a shortfall in customer funds, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company estimates that it has between 25,000 and 50,000 creditors. It listed assets of between $50 million and $100 million, and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million, according to a court filing. The bankruptcy filing comes after a Nevada regulator filed a petition to place the company into receivership in June, pointing to a shortfall of roughly $83 million. Part of the shortfall stemmed from Prime Trust losing access to some crypto wallets that held customers’ digital assets in December 2021, Nevada regulators have said. The Las Vegas-based company said it intends to explore a number of options, including a potential sale of its assets and operations. It expects to continue paying wages and providing benefits to remaining employees. Prime Trust started catering to the nascent and volatile crypto industry in 2018. The company started catering to crypto clients in 2018, acting as a bridge with the banking system, which had largely shunned the nascent and volatile digital-asset industry. In addition to holding firms’ crypto assets, Prime Trust also helped clients stash dollars with its network of banking partners. When crypto exchange Binance.US struggled to find a bank for customer funds, Prime Trust acted as a stopgap.
