Bitfinex's parent company iFinex proposes $150m share buyback

Background

iFinex, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, has announced plans to buy back $150 million worth of shares from users who received them as compensation for the 2016 hack. The buyback program comes as iFinex claims "positive performance" in recent years.

Compensation for 2016 hack

In 2016, Bitfinex suffered a hack that resulted in the loss of nearly 36% of user balances in Bitcoin. As the exchange did not have enough cash to fully compensate users, it offered recovery-right-tokens (RRT) and equity in iFinex as a way to fill the gap. Users were given the choice between these two options.

Stock swap deal

The iFinex shares were part of a stock swap deal in collaboration with investing platform BnkToTheFuture. Affected users received BFX tokens, which were later redeemed for shares of iFinex through BnkToTheFuture. This offering put iFinex's valuation at $1.7 billion, significantly higher than its self-valuation in 2016.

Buyback program details

The buyback program is open to a select group of directors of iFinex and its affiliates. There is no minimum number of shares required for the buyback to proceed, and the company is prepared to purchase as many shares as are made available until the maximum amount is reached. Shareholders have until October 24 to decide whether or not to sell their ownership to iFinex.

Source: [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com)