- The US government is allowed to keep working on an appeal
- The Securities and Exchange Commission opposes the deal too
Insolvent cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital Holdings’ plan to sell its assets to Binance’s US branch for $1 billion was approved in a deal with the US federal government, CoinTelegraph reported.
According to an April 19 filing in a New York district court the US government, the committee of the bankrupt lender’s creditors, and the lender itself reached an agreement for the deal with Binance to move forward as planned.
Appeal from govt is still possible
The filing states further that the US government is allowed to keep working on an appeal. The US Department of Justice had claimed the agreement contained certain provisions, which could help the lender evade legal liabilities.
The deal was previously halted by a federal judge after the US government requested an emergency suspension. At the beginning of March, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an appeal against Judge Michael Wiles’ decision to allow Binance’s US arm to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets.
SEC also opposes the agreement
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is one of many regulators that are staunchly opposed to the deal. The SEC objected to Voyager’s sale in February, claiming that Binance’s US arm could be running an unregistered securities exchange, thereby violating US securities laws.
The exchange’s US arm still has some regulatory hurdles to clear before they can finalize the deal. However, 97% of the lender’s creditors have approved the plan, which was put together after FTX declared bankruptcy. Previously, FTX had bid to acquire Voyager’s assets.
If the plan is implemented, creditors could recover up to 75% of their holdings in the bankrupt lender.
Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 5, 2022. It has been making proactive efforts to come up with a plan to redistribute funds ever since.
