Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital has received initial court approval to sell its assets to crypto exchange Binance.US for approximately $1.022 billion, according to a Reuters report on Jan. 11.
Judge Approves Binance.US-Voyager Deal
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles approved the asset purchase agreement between Voyager and Binance.US on Tuesday. However, Voyager’s creditors will still have to vote on the plan before the deal can be completed.
If the deal is approved by creditors, customers will recover 51% of the value of their deposits before Voyager’s bankruptcy filing. Notably, Voyager’s Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) has already filed a statement in support of the plan on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, Voyager will receive a $20 million cash payment and transfer its customers to Binance.US. After that, customers will be able to withdraw their assets from the exchange for the first time since July.
Pending Review
Voyager said it is seeking to expedite a U.S. national security review of its proposal to sell its assets to Binance, which could lead to the deal being blocked.
Joshua Sussberg, Voyager’s attorney, said during Tuesday’s court hearing that Voyager was responding to questions raised by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) last month. He stated that the Voyager would address any concerns that the committee has which could result in the transaction being blocked.
The CFIUS is an inter-agency committee of the United States government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. entities.
On Dec. 30, the agency submitted a court filing, saying that its pending review of the deal “could affect the ability of the parties to complete the transactions, the timing of completion, or relevant terms.”
“We are coordinating with Binance and their attorneys to not only deal with that inquiry, but to voluntarily submit an application to move this process along,” Sussberg said.
Sussberg said if the deal is eventually blocked by CFIUS, Voyager will have to repay customers with the crypto it has on hand, resulting in its customers receiving lower payouts.
Meanwhile, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a limited objection on the Binance.US-Voyager deal on Jan 4, arguing that the lender has failed to share the necessary information concerning the deal.
