Binance.US has won court approval for its acquisition of Voyager Digital, allowing Voyager’s customers to receive approximately 73% of their funds. The decision also serves as a blow to the SEC, whose attempts to prevent the acquisition were rejected by the court.
Binance.US has successfully completed its purchase of Voyager Digital after receiving court approval. The acquisition deal, which will see Binance.US acquire all of Voyager’s assets, had been held up by regulatory hurdles, particularly from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The acquisition deal
The recent court approval means that Voyager’s customers will finally be able to get closure and move on. The acquisition deal might serve as a blueprint for how acquisitions can go forth in the future and actually go through and give customers their funds back.
Voyager users are going to get their funds back, but not all of it. According to reports, the users will receive approximately 73% of what they are owed. While it is not the full amount, the fact that they will finally receive their funds after a prolonged period of uncertainty is a positive outcome for the users.
The SEC
The acquisition deal was a huge loss for the SEC and its Chair, Gary Gensler, who had tried to prevent the acquisition deal and prevent users from getting their funds off so that the government agency could get an enforcement payoff from Voyager.
The SEC’s efforts were rebuked by the court, with the Judge being very harsh and dismissive of the SEC. The SEC was unable to prove previous allegations that the sales derived from crypto exchanges are securities.
The court’s decision has implications beyond the Voyager acquisition deal. It sends a clear message to the SEC that its overreach has gone too far, and judges are starting to throw out its cases.
The US DOJ
The United States Department of Justice has filed an appeal against the New York bankruptcy judge’s ruling that authorized Binance.US’s billion-dollar acquisition agreement with Voyager.
It appears that several state regulators, in addition to the US SEC, are strongly opposed to the proposed agreement, arguing that Binance.US might be in breach of federal securities regulations by running an unregistered securities exchange within the United States.
Final Thoughts
While it is important to protect investors, the SEC and other state regulators’ attempts to regulate cryptocurrencies and related industries have been controversial, with critics accusing the agency of stifling innovation and hindering the growth of the industry.
The court’s approval of the Voyager acquisition deal is a positive development for Voyager’s customers. The fact that customers will finally be able to receive a portion of their funds is a step in the right direction.
Moreover, the court’s rejection of the SEC’s attempts to block the deal sends a clear message to regulators that their overreach is not acceptable. Overall, this decision may have implications for how the SEC approaches the regulation of cryptocurrencies and related industries in the future.
Rickie Sanchez is an article writer specializing in cryptocurrency news. Since late 2017, he has been actively investing in cryptocurrencies. He is enthusiastic about everything that has to do with crypto and he hopes that the readers of his articles in the years to come will gain a massive understanding of blockchain technology.