The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an appeal against a New York bankruptcy judge’s decision to approve Binance’s U.S. arm, Binance.US, in its billion-dollar plan to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lending platform Voyager Digital. Here are the details…
Binance.US, this time in the focus of the Ministry of Justice
The appeal, filed by the US Board of Trustees, came just a day after Judge Michael Wiles approved the settlement after a four-day hearing. cryptocoin.com As we have also reported, the Judge pointed out that there was no obstacle to the agreement in question. This news comes after regulators, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and various state regulators, expressed their strong opposition to the proposed deal.
Last month, the SEC objected to the acquisition of Voyager, arguing that Binance.US may be in violation of federal securities laws by operating an unregistered securities exchange. Despite objections, Judge Wiles upheld the settlement, stating that the Bankruptcy Act “does not imply that they have an indefinite term” and that “some form of action must be taken”. As part of the proposed sale, Voyager’s customers will receive an estimated 73 percent compensation. The plan was backed by 97 percent of Voyager’s creditors. Wiles used the following statements:
Work needs to be done. We have creditors pending and do not have access to the property they have invested in, or even life savings for some, in the midst of all this uncertainty, so we must take some kind of precaution. We should do something.
Another uncertainty for Voyager investors
If Voyager decides not to proceed with the sale to Binance.US, or if regulators successfully block the sale, the bankrupt lending platform may have to liquidate itself, resulting in much smaller returns for creditors. The DOJ appeal adds another layer of uncertainty to the already complex situation. It is not yet clear how this will turn out and whether the proposed sale will eventually be allowed to continue. As the cryptocurrency market is constantly evolving, regulatory challenges are likely to become more common in the future.
Meanwhile, Binance transactions seem to be on the rise. February was volatile for cryptocurrency prices, with trading volumes increasing despite staying at historically low levels. For Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, Binance remains the leading cryptocurrency trading platform in terms of trading volume. According to the latest stock market report from CryptoCompare, while trading volumes in the crypto space rose in February, they are still 71 percent below the all-time highs seen in May 2021. Binance, on the other hand, reached an all-time high market share for both.
