The CEO of the biggest crypto exchange, Binance, has confirmed that the United States division of the firm will be making another bid for the bankrupt Voyager Digital platform after the collapse of the former bid winner, FTX Derivatives Exchange.
The CEO confirmed the news via an interview with Bloomberg. Zhao stated that his firm has acquired several companies in the United States without encountering any regulatory concerns. Zhao however blamed FTX for accusations that Binance.US will pose security challenges if it acquires the crypto lending firm.
"Binance is not a Chinese company, we are not related to China at all."
CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao (@cz_binance), who is considering a bid for assets of bankrupt crypto firm Voyager, said on @BloombergTV his company is mistakenly believed to be Chinese "because I look Chinese" pic.twitter.com/Wqos9XTeW5
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) November 24, 2022
Zhao also stated that his firm is seeking to create about $1 billion in funds that might be used to buy bankrupt Voyager including other distressed crypto assets. “Binance is open to allocating more funds if the $1 billion is not enough,” says Zhao.
Binance was amongst the firms that initially placed a bid for Voyager following its collapse even though the collapsed FTX Exchange led by its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried was the leading exchange in the bid at the time. It was however reported that Binance’s bid was rejected per the national security threat nursed by the U.S. government.
Zhao claimed that the rumors of national security were escalated by FTX in an attempt to push Binance out of the bid because his firm never had any reservations about taking part in the bid for Voyager.
The Bid for Bankrupt Voyager
Bankrupt Voyager filed for bankruptcy in a Southern District Court in New York days after suspending withdrawals on its platform. Voyager had previously stated that it was collaborating with industry stakeholders and also looking into alternative options to ensure its survival, but that strategy appears to have failed as it has now opened a bid for its acquisition.
CrossTower, crypto, and Non-fungible tokens (NFT) platforms are among the firms that are in competition to buy up Voyager’s assets while leveraging on the collapse of FTX.
A news report stated that CrossTower is developing a new offer that it believes will be advantageous to both Voyager users and the larger crypto community because CrossTower has always put a strong emphasis on the community and will do so going forward.
FTX Exchange had earlier planned to provide early liquidity for Voyager. According to the plan, Voyagers’ customers would have the opportunity to start new accounts under FTX with an opening cash balance supported by an early payout on a percentage of their bankruptcy claims.
