Binance’s Acquisition of Voyager Digital May Be Delayed by US Review

Binance’s $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,275 crore) acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital could be delayed or blocked by a US national security review, according to a court filing on Friday. bankruptcy.

The crypto exchange’s US subsidiary, Binance.US, intends to buy Voyager’s crypto lending platform with an offer that includes $20 million (around Rs 165 crore) in cash and into crypto assets that will be used to reimburse Voyager customers.

But the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that reviews foreign investments in U.S. companies for national security risks, said Friday that its review “could affect the parties’ ability to conclude transactions, schedule for completion, or relevant conditions.”

Attorneys for Voyager and Binance.US did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

CFIUS is increasingly being used by Washington as a tool to thwart Chinese investment in the United States.

Binance is owned by Chinese-born, Singapore-based Changpeng Zhao and has no permanent headquarters. The company has been the subject of a money laundering investigation by US prosecutors. Binance.US, based in Palo Alto, Calif., said its separate US exchange was “completely independent” from the main Binance platform.

CFIUS didn’t mention any specific security issues raised by the Voyager acquisition in its court filing, but it said bankruptcy courts have sometimes ruled that national security concerns can prevent a company from bidding on assets. bankrupt.

Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July, months after the crash of major crypto tokens TerraUSD and Luna sent shockwaves through the digital asset industry.

Voyager originally planned to sell its assets to FTX Trading, but that deal imploded when FTX filed for bankruptcy in November amid a spree of customer withdrawals and allegations of fraud that led to the arrest of founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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