Babel Finance
Summary
Babel Finance was a Hong Kong-based crypto lending and asset management firm that raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation in May 2022, only to suspend all withdrawals the following month citing 'unusual liquidity pressures.' Internal restructuring documents later revealed that co-founder Wang Li had directed the firm's proprietary trading desk using customer funds with no risk controls, resulting in losses ultimately totaling $766 million and triggering insolvency proceedings in Singapore.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 3 more
Timeline(13 events)
2018-01-01
Babel Finance founded in Hong Kong as a crypto lending and financial services firm.
TechCrunch2022-05-25
Babel Finance announces completion of $80 million Series B funding round at a $2 billion valuation, achieving unicorn status. Investors include Jeneration Capital, 10T Holdings, Dragonfly Capital, BAI Capital, and Circle Ventures.
CoinDesk2022-06-17
Babel Finance suspends all product redemptions and withdrawals, informing partners the company is insolvent and citing 'unusual liquidity pressures.'
CoinDesk2022-06-30
Bitcoin falls from approximately $30,000 to $20,000 during June 2022, triggering forced liquidations of Babel's unhedged proprietary trading positions. Approximately 8,000 BTC and 56,000 ETH are lost.
The Block2022-07-01
Babel Finance reported to be engaging restructuring specialist Houlihan Lokey as financial adviser.
CoinDesk2022-07-20
Zipmex halts withdrawals on its own platform after disclosing $48 million exposure to Babel Finance and $5 million exposure to Celsius Network.
CoinDesk2022-07-29
Babel Finance's restructuring proposal deck, dated July 2022, is reported on by Bloomberg and The Block, revealing that the firm lost over $280 million (approximately 8,000 BTC and 56,000 ETH) through proprietary trading of customer funds with no risk controls.
Bloomberg2022-07-31
Zipmex files for creditor protection in Singapore following the Babel Finance default.
The Jakarta Post2022-12-01
Co-founder Wang Li removed from Babel Finance leadership. Company states that risky trading activities appear to have been instructed solely by Wang Li.
Fintech Singapore2023-03-05
Bloomberg reports Babel Finance is proposing a 'Recovery Coin' DeFi mechanism as the centerpiece of its restructuring plan to address $766 million in total creditor losses.
Bloomberg2023-03-06
Babel Finance files a moratorium application in the General Division of the High Court of Singapore under Section 64 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act.
PR Newswire (official filing announcement)2023-04-19
Singapore court extends Babel Finance's creditor protection and the firm begins formal in-court restructuring proceedings.
Blockhead2023-07-21
Babel Finance's Singapore creditor protection period extended to July 21, 2023, as the firm continues restructuring negotiations.
Fintech SingaporeDecision Log
- hash: Bdjd29nUGA7vCU2T5xUUhwTECEGsoiWbeyURfnMhZ3uw
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-5
generated: 5/30/2026, 12:59:46 PM
last updated: 5/30/2026, 12:59:51 PM
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