• Voyager Digital recently accepted Binance.US’s bid to purchase its assets for over $1 billion, but now the SEC has objected to the deal.
• The regulator asked for more clarification on the deal, such as how the crypto exchange plans to compensate users with funds still stuck on the platform and how it will finance the acquisition.
• The SEC also asked for clarification on what the crypto exchange would do if it is unable to close the deal by the April 18th deadline.
Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency lender, was recently accepted a bid from Binance.US to purchase its assets for over $1 billion. This had come through after the collapse of FTX, the exchange that was originally accepted to acquire the lender’s assets. The acquisition was subject to a court hearing scheduled to hold on Thursday, January 5, 2023, but the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has now objected to the deal.
Ahead of the scheduled hearing, the SEC filed a limited objection motion against the proposed acquisition of Voyager Digital assets by Binance.US. The regulatory watchdog raised some concerns about the Binance takeover and asked for more clarification on the deal. Specifically, the SEC wanted to know how the crypto exchange planned to compensate the users of Voyager Digital who still have funds stuck on the platform. In addition to objecting due to a lack of “necessary information,” the regulator also raised objections about the ability of Binance.US to finance an acquisition of this magnitude. It also asked for clarification about how the crypto exchange will operate once it takes control of Voyager’s assets.
Another interesting fact in the case is the fact that subject to court approval, Binance.US would actually have to complete the purchase by April 18, four months from now. The SEC is seeking clarification on what the crypto exchange would do if it is unable to close the deal by this date.
The SEC’s objection to the deal has put a huge question mark on the future of Voyager Digital and its users. It remains to be seen if Binance.US will be able to address the regulator’s concerns in a timely manner and close the deal by the April 18th deadline. Until then, the fate of the crypto lender and its users hangs in the balance.