When Bitcoin first appeared in 2009, Thomas Braziel saw more than a novel technology—he saw a new frontier investment market in need of institutional discipline. Over the next ten years he turned that insight into action, pioneering best-practice playbooks for distressed digital-asset workouts and becoming the go-to source of liquidity and strategy for investors and large claimholders alike.
“Thomas didn’t just spot an inefficiency—he built an investable market where none existed,” said Brian Estes, Founder & CIO of Off The Chain Capital. “His frameworks have shown that distressed digital assets can outperform even classic special-situations trades.”
After seven years of trailblazing workouts executed through earlier investment vehicles, Braziel founded 117 Partners in 2022 to scale the strategy globally. Today, the Savannah-based firm is recognized as the go-to source of liquidity and restructuring expertise for investors and large crypto claimholders.
Milestone Transactions & Firsts
- Turned early Mt. Gox and Bitcoinica claims into a landmark windfall. The firm’s first limited-partner investor now stands to realize a 40x+ gross return.
- Defined the legal blueprint for crypto operating-company restructurings by arranging the first court-approved DIP loan to a mining company in Chapter 11, as well as other crypto related DIP financings.
- Shaped precedent under the Small Business Reorganization Act as advisor to the Factom, Inc. Subchapter V estate—the statute’s first digital-asset case.
- Delivered outsized returns for private-capital partners, including a 60% gross IRR and 2.2x MOIC on a Celsius bankruptcy-claim SPV.
- Brokered more than $800 million in face-value FTX claims through proprietary sourcing and syndication, ranking among the largest intermediaries in that estate.
- Structured an SEC Fair Fund payout for CAT-token holders, enabling $1 million in forthcoming distributions under a “claimant-first” model.
Marking a decade since that first Mt. Gox check, 117 Partners is underwriting liquidity across more than ten active crypto bankruptcy estates—including Hodlnaut, CoinLoan, and Vauld—while expanding its Fair Fund distribution infrastructure to blend regulatory compliance with rapid, precise payouts.
“Applying time-tested distressed-investing lessons to crypto’s most turbulent moments has shown that discipline and creativity convert chaos into opportunity,” Braziel said. “We’re just getting started.”
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