The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and New York financial regulator have objected to Binance.US’s plan to purchase the assets of defunct cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital valued at $1.022 billion.
According to an objection filing made on February 22, the SEC has questioned the proposed deal noting that it is against the laws on the unregistered offer and sale of securities. Furthermore, the regulator while citing reports noted that Binance is facing money laundering and corruption charges and worries that the deal could become impossible to complete.
The New York Department of Financial Services also opposed the planned acquisition after it was alleged that Voyager was not licensed to operate in the state and offered an illegal virtual currency product which is against the law.
Recall that early this year, the US SEC objected to Binance.US’s planned acquisition of the assets of the crypto lender. Not long after, the cryptocurrency lender secured preliminary court clearance approved by the bankruptcy judge for its plan to sell its asset. All of this news came at a time when Voyager want to hasten the review of its request to sell off assets to Binance.US.
Markedly the SEC’s objection to the Binance-Voyager deal continues its streak of enforcement actions on the nascent industry. The SEC is currently probing several crypto firms for allegedly offering unregistered crypto products.
Voyager Opens Bids for the Acquisition of its Assets
Following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX which was in the position to acquire the bankrupt Voyager, several other bidders joined the bidding leveraging on FTX’s exit.
After its initial bid was rejected on account of the threat to national security, CZ and Binance.US planned to raise $1 billion for the acquisition of the distressed crypto lender. Binance was open to allocating more funds if the $1 billion is not enough.
CrossTower, another crypto firm that has always emphasized the community, also planned an offer that will be beneficial to both Voyager users and the broader crypto community. Voyager resulted in opening bids for its acquisition after all plans to help the bankrupt lender remain functional failed after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
