A New York bankruptcy judge has ruled that Voyager Digital is allowed to sell its assets to Binance.US, according to a report from Bloomberg on March 7.
Binance.US can buy $1 billion in assets
Judge Michael Wiles ruled that the two companies involved in the proposal can attempt to close the deal and transfer the relevant crypto assets.
Voyager must now decide whether to continue with the deal after assessing Binance.US for its level of commitment and its compliance with regulations. If the deal is successful, proceeds will be distributed to former Voyager customers. This arrangement will give customers about 73% of their amount owed due to changes in cryptocurrency market prices.
The deal is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, though other reports from Reuters suggest that Binance has so far agreed to pay $20 million in cash.
Voyager reported on March 1 that 97% of customers have voted in favor of the plan.
Voyager halted withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy in mid-2022. It was one of many firms that failed following the collapse of the crypto lending firm Celsius at that time.
Judge displayed hostility to SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has contested the deal, which it believes will undermine its ability to regulate the crypto industry.
Judge Wiles expressed hostility to the regulator due to the time-consuming nature of its complaints. During the current ruling, he said:
“I cannot put the entire case into indeterminate deep freeze while regulators figure out whether they believe there are problems with the transaction and plan.”
The SEC believes that Voyager’s recovery token should be regulated as a security and that Binance.US is not fit to complete the purchase. Its complaints date back to January.
Critics of the SEC’s harsh regulatory policies may see the judge’s frank statements as a breath of fresh air. However, this ruling does not necessarily signify a broader path toward other victories against the SEC as the regulator did not initially put the case forward.
Furthermore, the SEC may attempt to appeal the judge’s decision.
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