Voyager cleared to sell assets to Binance.US pending SEC objection
Voyager Digital, the bankrupt crypto lender has been cleared by a US judge to sell its assets to Binance.US for $1.3 billion. The judge has also overruled the Security and Exchange Commission’s objection to the deal, but the regulator’s objection could still thwart the selling process.
Voyager Customers to recover 73% of funds
Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved the strategic move, which is part of Voyager’s financial restructuring plan. The judge overruled the regulator’s objections on these grounds. Voyager will receive $20 million from Binance.US for the assets which the lending crypto firm held for customers.
Still, some hurdles remain before the deal is finalised. Specifically, The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is investigating possible national security risks associated with the investment. Binance.US has maintained that it is fully independent of its parent company Binance.
If the deal goes through, Voyager customers can begin to make withdrawals. The company has explicitly said this would allow customers to recover 73% of value.
Judge Rejects SEC fine on platform
The approval comes in the midst of a myriad of developments taking place at once.
Judge Wiles also rejected the SEC’s efforts to fine Voyager executives in the event that they decide to issue bankruptcy tokens to reimburse customers. The SEC argued that a bankruptcy token would represent an unregistered security token offering.
Proceedings heat up
Several other events are taking place with respect to bankruptcy proceedings.
The lender sent $121 million worth of assets to several exchanges since the beginning of February. It also earned $150 million USDC, potentially via cryptocurrency sales.
At the same time, disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried hasn’t showed up to give his testimony in the Voyager case. Meanwhile, Alameda Research are attempting to regain $446 million in loan repayments from the Lender. This is in addition to the attempt to claw back funds from Grayscale in yet another lawsuit.
All in all, legal battles are seriously heating up in the crypto-verse.
