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Binance US Cancels the $1.2B Voyager Assets Purchase Deal
Binance-Voyager’s $1.2 billion assets purchase deal has finally been canceled as Binance US has backed out of the agreement citing regulatory suffocation.
On Tuesday, April 25th, the US arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and company Binance announced the termination of the agreement. The development came after both parties got the green light to go ahead with the plan following an agreement with the US Government. The announcement reads:
“Binance.US has made the difficult decision to exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager.”
https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS has made the difficult decision to exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager.
While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager's customers access their crypto in kind, the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate…
— Binance.US 🇺🇸 (@BinanceUS) April 25, 2023
Misery Finally Comes to an End for Binance US
Voyager Digital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022. The Binance-Voyager $1.2 billion assets purchase agreement was announced last December but immediately hit by roadblocks from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators, citing the lack of disclosures.
After the initial objection by the SEC in January, both parties presented an amended plan in February. However, the SEC, NYDFS, and others filed an objection to this new plan citing various deficiencies.
On March 7th, as reported, United States Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles cleared the deal to go through despite SEC’s objections. Two days later, another roadblock hit the deal as the DOJ filed an appeal on March 9th challenging the decision to allow Binance US plan to acquire the assets of the bankrupt crypto lender Voyager.
On March 27th, District Judge Jennifer Rearden put the deal on hold in response DOJ appeal. However, the fresh breeze for Voyager customers came last week when Voyager announced a deal with the US Government. The deal suggested that noncontentious elements of the $1 billion deal could go ahead even before an appeal is heard.
However, Binance US has now decided to get rid of the deal by canceling the agreement. The exchange, on Twitter, wrote:
“While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager’s customers access their crypto in kind, the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States has introduced an unpredictable operating environment impacting the entire American business community. We are focused on creating a safe platform where our customers can participate in the digital asset economy.”
While this may end the misery for Binance US, which is already under many investigations and legal threats from US regulators, it has added more burden to Voyager’s efforts to pay back the customers.
Voyager expressed its dismay on Twitter and announced that it would now pay back customers through the direct distribution of cash and crypto. The annucement reads:
“Consistent with the plan, we will now move swiftly to return value to customers via direct distributions. We will provide more information on the next steps and any actions customers need to take in the coming days.”
2/ Consistent with the plan, we will now move swiftly to return value to customers via direct distributions. We will provide more information on next steps and any actions customers need to take in the coming days.
— Voyager (@investvoyager) April 25, 2023
