Binance.US changed its mind after the deal got its approval last week.
Binance.US announced in a tweet that it had walked away from its deal to buy $1 billion of assets from insolvent cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital. It attributed the decision to “the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.”
On April 19, an agreement was reached between Voyager, the Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and the US government allowing the transaction to proceed. An emergency stay ordered by a judge on March 28 stopped the deal from happening while the U.S. Department of Justice disputed Voyager’s bankruptcy plan.
Just before Binance.US announced the news, Voyager and the Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors both tweeted their disappointment. The official Twitter account for the Voyager unsecured creditors stated:
The Committee is looking into potential claims against Binance.US because it is so disappointed with this decision.
Binance.US, for its part, announced that it has chosen to “exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement.”
The hostile and uncertain legal environment in the United States has created an unpredictable working environment that is affecting the whole American business community, the exchange said. “While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager’s customers access their crypto in kind,” the exchange added.
Given that Binance.US was undoubtedly previously familiar with the U.S. regulatory environment, it is unclear what led to its change of heart. The cryptocurrency community on Twitter responded by showing some sympathy for Binance.US.
“I’m surprised Binance endured for so long. With all of the harassment from the government, I would’ve left a long time ago,” StephenEllis_PR tweeted. Some people were harsher in their condemnation.
I’m surprised Binance lasted as long as it did. I would’ve bailed a long time ago with all the harassment from the gov.
— 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣 🆅🅾🅻🆂 ᴾᵘᵉʳᵗᵒ ᴿⁱᶜᵒ (@StephenEllis_PR) April 25, 2023
But not everyone experienced that way. “Really, given that you have our complete information as clients? Therefore, you spent 10 million on us. I say you got a deal on this,” replied donterw to Binance US.
https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS has made the difficult decision to exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager.
While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager's customers access their crypto in kind, the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate…
— Binance.US 🇺🇸 (@BinanceUS) April 25, 2023
Both Voyager and the creditors’ committee announced they will now work on the “toggle option” of transferring cash and cryptocurrency to clients directly through the Voyager platform.
On July 5, Voyager declared bankruptcy.
Discussion about this post