Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager’s CFO to exit months after appointment

(Reuters) – Voyager Digital Ltd Chief Financial Officer Ashwin Prithipaul is preparing to step down from his role within months of his appointment at the crypto lender that filed for bankruptcy in July.

The company said on Friday the finance head would resign after a “transition period” to pursue other opportunities, and that Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ehrlich will head the role in the interim.

Crypto lenders such as Voyager boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing depositors with high interest rates and easy access to loans rarely offered by traditional banks.

But inflation and subsequent rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve led to a wide sell-off in the alternative asset class that dealt a heavy blow to several companies in the sector.

Digital asset exchange Coinbase Global Inc and crypto lender BlockFi have been forced to cut jobs, while Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has filed for bankruptcy.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)