Binance And FTX Head-To-Head In Auction Of Voyager’s Assets
- Binance and FTX, two of the biggest crypto exchange platforms in the world, have shown interest in acquiring bankrupt crypto lending platform Voyager Digital.
- People close to the matter have informed that Changpeng Zhao’s Binance has placed the leading bid at $50 million but the Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange is not far behind.
- The hearing to decide who will receive Voyager’s assets has been set for September 29 but the announcement can possibly come sooner.
While the crypto market is continuously throwing out troubled crypto companies, crypto giants like FTX are ready to capitalize on these opportunities. Binance and FTX, two of the biggest crypto exchange platforms in the world, have shown interest in acquiring bankrupt crypto lending platform Voyager Digital.
According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, people close to the matter have informed that Changpeng Zhao’s Binance has placed the leading bid at $50 million but the Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange is not far behind.
It is important to note that the sale of assets belonging to Voyager started on September 13. Apart from the top two exchanges, several other companies are also competing to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets, including crypto investment manager Wave Financial and the trading platform CrossTower. Additionally, there is a high possibility of a new bidder entering the sale at the last minute.
The Wall Street Journal said that the hearing to decide who will receive Voyager’s assets has been set for September 29 but the announcement can possibly come sooner.
Voyager Digital, which went public after a reverse merger in 2019, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in July this year, after suspending trading, deposits, withdrawals, and loyalty programs on its platform.
Soon after the company’s “tremendously difficult” decision, it received a buyout offer from FTX and Alameda Ventures. However, the embattled crypto lending platform rejected the offer, calling it a “low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue” that only benefits Bankman-Fried’s companies.
Notably, the company’s peak market capitalization was $3.9 billion and at the time of bankruptcy filing, it reported $5 billion worth of assets and $4.9 billion worth of liabilities.
Notably, Voyager has recently signed a non-binding term deal with Alameda Research to give the former “more flexibility to mitigate current market conditions and strengthen [its] relationship with one of the industry leaders.”
Despite the current market downturn, SBF’s FTX exchange has been quite active in the cryptocurrency space, when several big names in the industry like Coinbase are announcing large losses and staff layoffs.
On the other hand, Binance also seems fully committed to expanding its position in the crypto industry. Earlier this year, the exchange’s founder Changpeng Zhao said that his company is going to capitalize on the rare opportunities offered by the ongoing bear market.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
