Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital has struck a deal with the U.S. Federal Government, allowing it to move ahead with its $1 billion deal with Binance.US. The crypto exchange will now move ahead and sell $1 billion worth of assets to Binance’s American branch.
Voyager, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and the U.S. government concurred in a filing made on April 19 in a New York District Court that the arrangement for Binance to buy Voyager’s digital assets could proceed as scheduled. Furthermore, according to the document, the government may continue to pursue an appeal of the provisions that, in its view, shield Voyager from particular legal liabilities. Nonetheless, the deal between the fallen crypto lender and the world’s largest exchange has been rocky from the get-go.
Ups and downs in the Binance US – Voyager deal
In the middle of 2022, cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital declared bankruptcy, blaming market conditions. Several companies devised strategies to provide Voyager with a life jacket and prevent it from going bankrupt.
In January 2023, Binance.US successfully obtained the court’s approval for buying some of Voyager’s assets. However, the SEC raised concerns about the $1 billion transaction. The commission claimed that the agreement might end up being discriminatory and illegal. Regardless, that was not the end of it. In March, Voyager received approval from United States Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles to sell over $1 billion of its assets to Binance.US. It did not, however, go over well with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ appealed the bankruptcy court‘s ruling on March 9.
On March 15, a bankruptcy judge said that Binance’s $1 billion offer to purchase the lender’s assets should go forward. The judge rejected the U.S. government’s request to halt the process. The Department of Justice (DOJ) criticized the court for “improperly” going beyond its bounds. In order to file an appeal, the DOJ requested a two-week wait for the court’s approval of the sale.
Nonetheless, the deal seems to have finally reached common ground. Voyager was one of the many firms that collapsed in the bear market of 2022. With the Binance deal going forward, the crypto lender might be heading for a change of direction in the coming times.