
Texas Regulator maakt zich zorgen over de Voyager-Binance-deal
- De Texas State Securities Board en het Department of Banking hebben hun bezorgdheid geuit over de overnameovereenkomst tussen Binance.US en Voyager.
- The terms of service and restructuring plan of Binance.US contain several “inadequate” disclosures, said the regulator.
- Op 19 december werd onthuld dat Binance.US van plan is de activa van Voyager Digital te verwerven voor een totaalbedrag van $1.022 miljard.
- The regulator stated that this plan presented by Binance.US “unfairly discriminates against Texas consumers.”
Popular crypto lending platform Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy last year and went on to make several headlines after its acquisition deal with Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX fell apart due to the latter also filing for bankruptcy in November 2022. Interestingly, the US arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance.US, came forward to acquire Voyager, but several regulators, including the Texas State Securities Board and the Department of Banking, have concerns regarding the same.
Volgens een rechtbank indienen by the Texas regulator, the terms of service and restructuring plan of Binance.US contain several “inadequate” disclosures, including not adequately informing unsecured creditors that under the plan, they may only get 24%–26% recovery, as compared to the 51% they would receive under Chapter 7.
Het werd onthuld via een persbericht published on Dec. 19 that Binance.US plans to acquire the assets belonging to Voyager Digital for a total of $1.022 billion. The crypto lender stated at that time that the crypto exchange presented the “highest and best bid for its assets.”
Further, the filing also stated that the crypto exchange’s disclosure also does not mention the fact that customers will be required to allow the transfer of “personally sensitive information to any party in any part of the world as required by Binance.US, and then strips the account holders of any legal recourse for any issues that may arise.”
“So, under these ToUs, customers’ information can be transferred to almost any company or person that Binance.us desires, and, if any issues arise in the customers’ access to or use of Binance.us’s Services, the customers have absolutely no right to challenge the issue,” noted the Texas regulator.
The regulator stated that this plan presented by Binance.US “unfairly discriminates against Texas consumers,” while adding that since the crypto exchange is not licensed to operate in the region, Voyager will hold the digital assets belonging to the account holders for six months after the agreement, during which time Binance.US would seek licensing in the state.
However, the regulator further noted, “It will be almost impossible for Binance.us to be licensed by the Texas SSB and the DOB within six months, and, as such, holding the Texas consumers’ coin for six months accomplishes nothing.”
Zoals eerder gemeld door Bitnation, is El Salvador het eerste land dat Bitcoin als wettig betaalmiddel ter wereld adopteert open een Bitcoin-ambassade in Texas. De staat is ook een onderzoek gestart naar de beroemdheden die onder meer de inmiddels failliete beurs FTX hebben gepromoot model Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, and Tom Brady.Verder is het ook cruciaal op te merken dat de Amerikaanse faillissementsrechter Michael Wiles in New York heeft de knipoog naar Voyager gegeven om een deal te sluiten met Binance.US en ook om schuldeisers hiervoor te laten stemmen. Amerikaanse toezichthouders hebben dat echter wel gedaan diende een motie in tegen de overname van activa eigendom van Voyager door de crypto-uitwisseling.