Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Supports $1.02B Voyager Deal Despite SEC’s Objection
- Binance chief Changpeng Zhao has reiterated his support for the acquisition of Voyager Digital.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission objected to the deal during a recent court hearing.
- The SEC faced criticism from a U.S. bankruptcy judge for its objection to the Voyager deal.
Binance U.S’s bid to acquire Voyager Digital ran into some trouble earlier this week when the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission objected to the acquisition of the bankrupt crypto lender, which led to speculation about the deal being suspended altogether. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has stated that he is still interested in going ahead with the deal.
Changpeng Zhao considered pulling out from the deal amid objections from the SEC
Binance U.S. signed an agreement in December last year to purchase the assets of Voyager Digital for $1.02 billion and bring the bankrupt crypto lender out of Chapter 11 proceedings. The deal faced objection from the SEC earlier this week during the crypto lender’s bankruptcy hearing. According to a report by Reuters, the securities regulator argued that Voyager’s crypto lending business may have involved the sale of unregistered securities.
U.S Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles took issue with the SEC’s vague objections to the acquisition deal, saying that the agency was asking the court to “stop everybody in their tracks” while providing no regulatory guide to determine the status of the VGX token in question.
I get the feeling that this objection has been made as a kind of cover, so you can say later that we’ll see we raised these issues. You haven’t really, you have done nothing … I need to know specifics.”
The SEC was joined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which raised concerns about the deal. In light of the objections from federal agencies, Changpeng Zhao indicated on Twitter earlier today that he may “pull out” from the deal. However, the doubts were cast aside within hours when the Binance CEO tweeted, “We are still in support of the deal and helping returning funds to users as quickly as possible, if allowed to do so.”
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