Court holds Voyager Digital’s asset sale to Binance U.S.

The latest turn of events suggests that US authorities will probe the legality of the deal in more detail

Bankrupt crypto currency lender Voyager Digital had its $1.3bln asset sale to Binance U.S. was put on hold by a federal court on March 27 (Monday). This comes on the back of a lawsuit filed against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for violating federal derivatives laws.

It also comes within a month of a judge permitting the parties to go through with the agreement. The latest turn of events suggests that US authorities will probe the legality of the deal in more detail.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the US Trustee’s Office all appealed the March 1 decision of the court to permit the sale of Voyager Assets to Binance U.S.

They stated that the safeguards may act as a symbol of consent for digital currencies that are actually unregistered securities. As an added benefit, it could validate deals that breach US securities laws. On Monday, US District Judge Jennifer Rearden declined Voyager’s argument that a delay may compel Binance U.S. to walk out of the deal altogether and directed putting the deal on hold.

With the $40bln collapse of the Terra ecosystem in July last year, crypto currency lender Voyager Digital filed for liquidation because of large withdrawals. Voyager has been firmly pursuing assets sale to assist its customers in retrieving their funds.

During the previous week, Voyager filed a legal brief claiming that DoJ’s pending appeals put the company and its clients in uncertainty. Lately, Binance has been besieged by many regulatory efforts. On Monday, the possibility of a legal battle with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was a major setback.