Finance and Banking

Following a brief introduction into the modern-day Wild, Wild West of currency that is crypto, this panel will discuss the rise in crypto bankruptcy filings, the unique issues and challenges of crypto bankruptcies, and the future of crypto.

Stunning failures across the crypto ecosystem have caused many to question the future of the industry and ask whether the crypto boom was purely fueled by speculation. Allegations of misfeasance at FTX and the interrelatedness of major industry participants create understandable questions, and business models have been shown to be flawed. This panel discussion will explain industry issues, unique bankruptcy challenges, and what the future of the crypto industry might look like.

This panel will review and discuss recent bank issues in light of the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and the near-miss with First Republic.

This panel will discuss how secured creditors can inadvertently find themselves junior in priority, diminishing the value of their loans, and how they can protect themselves.

This panel will discuss the fallout from the recent “crypto winter,” and what it means for bankruptcy practitioners and their clients, both legally and practically. The panelists will focus on recent developments in major crypto bankruptcy cases, take a look at what is next for restructurings in the crypto industry and regulatory issues, and provide practical tips for lawyers and clients when engaging with crypto companies.

This session will discuss crypto asset and exchange valuation parameters and deal structures, and how investors and analysts alike were duped by FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, to invest in his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. SBF had painted himself as an industry saint, but he now acknowledges the firm's “massive failure of oversight of risk management.” The panelists will analyze 2022's largest crypto failures — FTX, BlockFi, Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital and Celsius Network — and will address their crypto asset valuation parameters, forensic data sources, trading models, likely stakeholder recoveries, failures of internal controls, current and likely future regulatory controls, and corporate integrity and governance protocols in order to understand how these virtual currencies rose and subsequently collapsed.

This panel will focus on the current state of the capital markets and their impact on corporate refinance and restructuring opportunities. Given recent economic events, including inflation, interest rate hikes and their ramifications on the financial sectors, the panelists will discuss and explore those events and how they could affect the ability of companies to access the capital markets. The panelists also will explore how access to the capital markets could force a company to restructure or refinance existing obligations given the recent history of low interest rates and easy access to funding.

Join Mr. Pauker as he shares his perspectives on the recent turmoil in the banking and financial services industry, including what lessons can be learned by comparing recent events to those surrounding the S&L crisis and the 2008 financial crisis.

This panel will discuss the following issues regarding crypto, distinguishing customer property from property of the estate, understanding crypto valuation issues, distribution options in crypto cases, M&A risks and pitfalls, effectively using social media to communicate with a large customer base, juggling cash and crypto management, and debtor-on-debtor violence.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed on March 10 following a run on its deposits, representing the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history behind the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual. Prior to its collapse, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based SVB was the 16th-largest bank in the U.S. and was the largest bank by deposits in Silicon Valley. This panel of experts will break down the failure and future of SVB, the FDIC's role in the banking crisis, and the impact its collapse may have on other financial institutions.