by Cynthia Ezirim 
The American subsidiary of leading crypto exchange Binance, Binance.US, has backed out of an agreement with bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital to purchase $1 billion worth of its assets less than a week after the US government greenlighted the deal.
Binance.US Terminates Asset-Sale Plan With Voyager
According to a tweet by Voyager, Binance.US disclosed its decision to terminate the deal on Tuesday via a letter. In the notice of termination, Binance.US said it was ending the agreement as it had not been consummated as of the outside date. They requested that Voyager fully return the $10 million deposit made at the onset of the pact.
Binance.US had stepped in to rescue Voyager after bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, who was to purchase the assets, failed. The crypto exchange agreed to the purchase on December 18, with an option to back out if it was not completed by April 18 (the outside date). The purchase agreement was set to unlock 51% of users’ funds.
However, Binance.US has stepped out of the deal due to the regulatory uncertainty that has created an unpredictable operating environment in the US.
“Binance.US has made the difficult decision to exercise its right to terminate the asset purchase agreement with Voyager. While our hope throughout this process was to help Voyager’s customers access their crypto in kind, the hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States has introduced an unpredictable operating environment impacting the entire American business community,” the exchange said.
The Second Blow
Binance’s decision to opt out of the pact marks the second time a rescue plan for Voyager’s creditors is falling through. After a series of back-and-forth movements between both parties and the US government, the crypto exchange disappointed the bankrupt entity.
Recall that several US regulators, including the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), opposed the deal for three months until last week when they reached a resolution with the court and approved it.
Notably, roughly 97% of Voyager’s creditors voted in favor of the agreement, and bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles approved it.
Binance.US must now get rid of all customer information and accounts related to the arrangement while Voyager works towards returning customers’ funds through direct distribution.
