Voyager brands criticism of Binance.US deal as hypocritical

The criticism by Alameda Research and U.S. regulators of Voyager Digital’s sale of its assets to Binance.US is “hypocrisy and audacity,” based on unverified conjectures. This was stated by representatives of the crypto broker, according to court documents.

On December 19, Voyager Digital said that Binance offered the highest price ($1.022 billion) for the assets.

It was expected that at the bankruptcy-court hearing on January 5 the broker would secure approval of the asset-sale agreement. In that case, the closing was expected by April 18, with a one-month extension option.

The proposal met opposition from the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, regulators in New York, Texas, Vermont and Hawaii, as well as Alameda Research, which is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. In September 2022, the sister exchange FTX won the auction to sell the assets, offering around $1.4 billion.

Voyager Digital called questions about Binance.US’s ability to finance the deal “inappropriate”.

“Raising objections to the disclosure statement on the basis of unfounded and unverified media reports while ignoring already provided material data is a naked attempt to undermine the deal and an attack on Binance.US” — according to the document.

The broker’s representatives expressed puzzlement at regulators’ stance, which opposed a scenario in which harmed clients would receive payouts in fiat rather than crypto, a feature of other proposals.

Alameda Research opposed the deal on the grounds that it would violate the creditor hierarchy established by U.S. bankruptcy law.

“Voyager began lending operations with Alameda-FTX solely on the basis of false statements by the companies.” The exchange’s attempt to acquire the broker was “the latest attempt to mask holes in its own balance sheet arising from fraudulent actions,” the document states.

Earlier media reports said that Binance.US’s participation in the Voyager Digital asset sale auction was at risk due to “xenophobia” and national-security concerns.

After FTX Group filed for bankruptcy Voyager Digital announced the restart of the auction and willingness to discuss terms with potential buyers.

Earlier in the month, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed that the company’s U.S. unit would participate in a new auction to acquire the creditor’s assets.

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