That reports a CoinDesk report, Binance’s US arm will relaunch its bid for bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital. Earlier, ftx had won the bid to take over the fallen cryptocurrency lender. However, with recent events leading to FTX itself going bankrupt, the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, seems to have emerged as the crypto lender’s savior.
Binance’s previous offer was subsequently dropped supposedly national security risks. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviews future foreign acquisitions of companies with US operations. The commission can veto any transaction it deems a risk to national security.
On November 11, Voyager announced that it would reopen its bidding process. The company said it was “in active talks with alternative bidders”. In addition to Binance, these are also Wave Financial and Cross Tower Reportedly in the race.
Voyager did not transfer any assets to FTX US as part of the previous offer. A $5 million “good faith” payment previously made by FTX US as part of the auction process is being held.
6,500 BTC and 50,000 ETH in loans from Alameda Research were successfully recalled by Voyager. Voyager currently has no outstanding loans with borrowers. Voyager had a balance of approximately $3 million with FTX at the time of FTX Group’s Chapter 11 filing, consisting largely of locked LUNA2 and locked SRM that it was unable to withdraw because they are still locked and subject to vesting schedules.
Is the offer part of the Binance industry recovery fund?
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recently announced that the stock exchange is a recovery fund for the entire crypto industry. The primary purpose of this fund is to support projects during a liquidity crisis. However, there is no confirmation whether the Voyager offer is part of the recovery fund.
Chief Communications Officer at the exchange, Patrick Hillmann, told CoinDesk,
“Binance does not seem to be the ‘white knight’ of crypto. There are no Luke Skywalkers or Darth Vaders in business. This is a company that has the most to lose as an industry leader and is looking around to see where we can help strengthen the industry through a Black Swan event.”
Anyway, the exchange seems to have come out on top in this entire episode. The damage caused by the FTX contamination has yet to be fully acknowledged. More information will be available once a thorough investigation has taken place.