Binance US Pulls the Plug: Voyager Purchase Deal Falls Through

According to the now-defunct crypto lender Voyager, Binance US sent a letter to the company “terminating the asset purchase agreement.” While the announcement was “disappointing” for Voyager, the firm maintained that its customers would still be receiving their cash and crypto through a “direct distribution” via the Voyager platform.

Towards the end of 2022, Binance disclosed that its US subsidiary had entered into a billion-dollar agreement with Voyager Digital Ltd. to acquire its assets. Despite objections from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the purchase was allowed to proceed after receiving court approval. However, on April 25, 2023, Voyager revealed that the deal was no longer moving forward.

“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,” Voyager announced via Twitter.

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

Nine months prior, the TSX-listed Voyager Digital halted withdrawals on July 1, 2022, and filed for bankruptcy six days later. The firm cited “prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets” as the reasons behind its failure. Before Binance stepped in to offer assistance, FTX was supposed to have helped Voyager, but Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire had collapsed.

The official Twitter account of Voyager’s Committee of Unsecured Creditors also expressed disappointment upon learning of the termination of the deal with Binance. “Around 2 hours ago, Binance US purported to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager,” the account tweeted. “The Committee is incredibly disappointed with this decision and is investigating potential claims against Binance US.”

What are your thoughts on Binance US’s decision to terminate the Voyager deal? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.