US Bankruptcy Judge Approves Binance.US $1.3 Billion Voyager Digital Deal, But Hurdles Remain – Here’s The Breaking News

digital travelthe bankrupt crypto lender, has been given the green light to sell its assets to Binance.FR and transfer its clients to the exchange.

During a hearing in New York, US Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved Voyager’s restructuring plan, allowing it to sell its assets to Binance.US in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. dollars, Reuters reported.

the judge approved the plan despite an objection from the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was dismissed as “vague” by Judge Wiles. The regulator had raised concerns about Binance.US operating an unregistered exchange on the eleventh hour, but offered no compelling evidence to support its claim.

Once the deal is done, customers will finally be able to make withdrawals, with estimates that users will be able to recover 73% of the value of their deposits when Voyager files for bankruptcy.

That said, Voyager is not obligated to accept the trade-in offer. It will take the company up to a month to review “emerging questions” about Binance.US’ involvement in the acquisition, its regulatory compliance and the security of customer deposits, the report said, citing financial advisers from Binance.US. To travel.

Furthermore, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is investigating the national security risks associated with foreign investment in Voyager, which could also be an impediment to the acquisition.

It is not finished

As a reminder, Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, followed by a one-upmanship between Binance and the FTX exchange. In late October, FTX won approval from a US bankruptcy court to take over Voyager’s assets, but it sadly collapsed soon after, and Binance was back in the game.

In mid-December, it was announced that Binance.US would buy the bankrupt crypto lender’s remaining assets. The agreement between the two companies valued Voyager at approximately $1 billion (a number largely made up of Voyager’s debts to its customers), and required Binance.US to deposit $10 million and reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to to $15 million. In total, the final purchase price would have been $20 million, plus refunds to Voyager customers.

Then in January, the SEC objected to Binance’s efforts to buy those assets, saying more information about the deal was needed and Binance.US hadn’t provided enough details about its ability to complete the deal. ‘OK.

In addition, lawyers representing the Texas State Securities Commission and the Texas Department of Banking claimed that there are close ties between Binance.com, BAM Management Co., CPZ Holdings, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. They argued that Zhao owns CPZ Holdings, which owns Binance.US operator BAM Management, while BAM Trading is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAM Management, and therefore Zhao appears to be the indirect owner of Binance.US and Binance.com. .

This is a problem, as it would potentially allow Binance.com to operate in the US even though Binance.com allegedly does not deal with US customers.

In late February, the Texas legal team once again opposed Binance.US’ attempts to buy Voyager’s assets. The problem, they reiterated, is the link between Binance.US and Binance.

“The independence of Binance.US from Binance.com is of the utmost importance to protect consumer privacy and coins from misuse. While Binance.US, as a buyer, claims to operate independently of Binance.com, the [terms of use] suggest otherwise,” argued the legal team.

And last Sunday, a Wall Street Journal report, citing internal documents and employee posts, said that Binance and Binance.US, despite claiming to be separate entities, had shared personnel and finances, as well than a related organization that has engaged in the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.

The report further claimed that Binance created its US platform as a shield against regulators.

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