Media: Binance faces xenophobia in bid for Voyager Digital assets

Binance’s participation in the auction for the assets of the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital has come into question over national-security concerns. This is reported, citing sources, by CoinDesk.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order, aimed at strengthening the federal government’s powers to block Chinese investments in technology and to restrict access to private data of citizens.

Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s chief communications officer, said that the basis for discussions about a possible block of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is “xenophobia”.

“The exchange has invested in countless American companies both directly and through Binance Labs. The company has never been the subject of an official or unofficial CFIUS investigation. Binance is a Canadian company, wholly owned by a Canadian citizen. The xenophobia underlying the very nature of the questions we are asking about CFIUS issues is almost as shocking as the invasion of privacy”, he said.

According to sources, Binance asked to strengthen the bid as a precaution in case a government agency review could delay the purchase.

At the auction for Voyager Digital’s assets, the most advantageous bid was submitted by the FTX exchange.

In September, Changpeng Zhaorejected ties between the platform and Chinese authorities. He stressed that “the origin or emigration from the PRC should not be the scarlet letter one must wear for the rest of one’s life”.

Reuters reported earlier that U.S. authorities requested the Binance CEO’s records for the investigation into money laundering.

In July Zhao filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek, accusing it of defamation.

Two years earlier, the Bitcoin exchange filed similar claims against Forbes.

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