- Voyager Digital has been given the green light to sell its assets and transfer its customers to Binance.US
- The deal, worth $1.3 billion, was approved by the judge on Monday
- The SEC’s complaints that Binance.US is selling unlicensed securities was thrown out by the judge due to a lack of evidence
Voyager Digital has been given the green light to sell its assets and transfer its customers to Binance.US in a deal worth $1.3 billion. The restructuring plan, centered around the acquisition by Binance.US, was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles in a New York hearing on Monday. Binance.US will pay $20 million in cash to Voyager and assume the crypto assets deposited by its customers, which make up the majority of the deal’s value. The plan was approved despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) objection, which was dismissed by Wiles as “vague.”
Judge Allows Sale to Pass to Creditor Vote
Binance.US bid for Voyager in September last year following its bankruptcy, with the collapse of FTX, the initially accepted bidder, two months later giving it a clear run. Judge Wiles allowed Voyager to enter into the asset purchase agreement and seek creditor approval over the deal in January, but with complaints lodged by the SEC and two Texas regulators it seemed like Binance.US faced an uphill battle.
In his ruling on Monday however, Judge Wiles said that the agency’s argument that Binance.US is operating an unregistered securities exchange failed to present any evidence to back up its claims and criticized the agency for waiting until the eleventh hour to raise its concern.
Voyager Can Begin Asset and Account Transfers
Following Wiles’ approval, Voyager is now authorized to transfer its customer accounts to Binance.US, although the company may still choose to back out of the deal. During a court hearing on Friday, Voyager’s financial advisors stated that they require up to four weeks to examine new concerns regarding Binance.US’s regulatory compliance, its commitment to the acquisition, and the security of its customer deposits.
Moreover, the acquisition deal is under additional scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is investigating potential national security risks related to foreign investment in Voyager.
Once the deal is finalized, and Voyager’s customers have established accounts with Binance.US, they will finally be able to withdraw their funds for the first time since Voyager froze their accounts nine months ago..
