Voyager Digital's $1 billion sale to Binance.US has been temporarily halted by a federal judge after the U.S. government requested an emergency stay.
The emergency stay request was granted by New York U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Rearden on March 27, implying a potential deal between Voyager and Binance. Judge appeals bankruptcy plan. The U.S. Department of Justice filed an emergency extension request on March 17. The motion was immediately challenged by Voyager Digital and the official committee of unsecured creditors on March 20, and was again responded to by the DOJ on March 21 in a final "answer" motion.
Taking into account the written submissions of the parties, as well as the meetings and oral arguments held on the matter, the Government's emergency motion is hereby granted. "
A federal judge will soon issue an opinion explaining the decision in more depth.
The cryptocurrency exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 5 and has since been actively coordinating plans to reallocate funds. On March 7, Judge Wiles approved the acquisition of Voyager by Binance.US. Part of the approval involves issuing bankruptcy tokens to affected Voyager customers. However, U.S. regulators have tried several times to block the deal.
In addition to the DOJ, the SEC argued in a March 15 motion that Voyager's bankruptcy plan would result in fraud, theft or tax avoidance. However, this claim was later rejected by Judge Michael Wiles. Voyager's official committee of unsecured creditors said in a March 27 tweet that they "will continue to actively oppose the government's efforts."
More than 97 percent of 61,300 Voyager account holders favored the restructuring plan, according to a poll submitted to the court on Feb. 28. The program is expected to pay 73% of what Voyager customers owe.
