Despite SEC‘s vague objection, Binance.US cleared a major hurdle in its effort to acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in a deal worth $1.3 billion. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved Voyager‘s restructuring plan, built around the Binance.US acquisition. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager and to take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers.
The judge said he would still work through the confirmation order but indicated he favored approving the deal. Binance.US may still have to clear certain regulatory hurdles before the deal can be finalized. Voyager‘s VGX token surged over 8% in the minutes after the ruling.
After overruling the U.S. SEC’s “vague” objection to the Binance.US acquisition, Wiles approved the restructuring plan. SEC attorney William Uptegrove told the judge at a hearing last week that SEC investigators believe Binance.US is operating an unregistered securities exchange. But Wiles was unpersuaded, saying the agency failed to present any evidence and should not have waited until the last minute to raise a concrete concern.
The deal also faces additional scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), investigating national security risks associated with foreign investment in Voyager.
