Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital announced it had received a letter from Binance.US terminating the purchase agreement. Both parties received a green light for the purchase from the government last week.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Voyager said:
Today we received a letter from Binance.US terminating the asset purchase agreement. While this development is disappointing, our chapter 11 plan allows for direct distribution of cash and crypto to customers (a “toggle option”) via the Voyager platform.
As per the message, Voyager isn’t forgetting its obligations to customers: the crypto lender said that it’ll return value to customers via direct distribution.
Binance.US announced on Twitter that the deal is ended due to the “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States”:
Binance.US 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 in the United States has introduced an unpredictable operating environment impacting the entire American business community. We are focused on creating a safe platform where our customers can participate in the digital asset economy.
The news came as a surprise. Despite concerns that the fine print of the contract would excuse violations of tax or securities laws, the U.S. government already approved a significant portion of the $1 billion deal in an April 20 filing. Moreover, Binance was already familiar with the U.S. regulatory environment.
Related: Voyager-Binance deal moves forward
As a reminder, the deal was approved by the majority of Voyager creditors. The Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors tweeted:
The Committee is incredibly disappointed with this decision and is investigating potential claims against Binance.US.
Binance.US had the option to withdraw from the proposed deal if it wasn’t completed within four months, as per the offer made in December. However, attorneys representing Voyager have warned that if Binance.US decided not to go through with the deal, it could have a significant impact on its 1 million creditors.
Related: Binance.US acquires Voyager Digital
The termination of the Voyager deal sparked a flurry of speculation on Twitter. Community members linked the news to the recent CFTC action against parent exchange Binance for selling unregistered crypto derivatives:
Related: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao rejects CFTC accusations
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao responded to the speculation with an emoji of a shrugging face.
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