The US Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a “limited objection” to prevent Binance.US’s deal to buy Voyager Digital, the bankrupt crypto lender. According to reports, the securities regulator wants the crypto exchange to meet some criteria. The agency noted that the deal did not contain some “necessary information.”
SEC Cites Lack Of Vital Information In The Deal
SEC filed the objection on January 4th with the agency, citing a lack of information on how Binance.US will fund the deal. Other areas include the operations of Binance.US following the deal and how it will secure users’ assets before and after the acquisition.
In addition, the regulatory body wants Voyager to give more information on the potential outcomes that might occur if the deal is not finalized by April 18th. In the objection, SEC stated that it has reached out to Voyager about the matter. As a result, Voyager plans to submit an updated disclosure statement before the hearing.
On the other hand, some commentators have interpreted SEC’s objection in another way. They stated that SEC believes Binance.US would need financial assistance from the global Binance entity to scale through with the deal.
Meanwhile, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has repeatedly reiterated that Binance.US is an independent entity. However, in an October 17th report, popular media outlet Reuters alleged that Binance.US was a “de facto subsidiary.”
Binance.US Entity Was Created To Avoid Regulators – Reuters
According to Reuters, the US entity was created to shield Binance from American regulators. Responding to the allegation in an October 17th post, Zhao argued that the exchange will always comply with regulators.
The CEO argued that the author of the Reuters article was biased using the presentation of an external consultant. On December 19th, Voyager Digital announced Binance.US as the winner of its new bid after the previous bidder, FTX exchange, went bankrupt.
On September 27th, FTX.US won the bid to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets for over $1.4 billion. The deal would have seen former users of Voyager receive 72% of their assets. Unfortunately, the company filed for bankruptcy on November 11th.
Binance.US agreed to pay $1.022 billion to buy the crypto lender. According to Voyager, Binance.US’s bid would allow creditors and customers to receive a maximum value of their assets within “an expedited timeframe.”