By James Davis
Bankrupt crypto broker Voyager has revealed that 96% of its clients with account holder claims voted in favor of a restructuring plan which involves Binance.US acquiring the company’s assets for approximately $1.01 billion.
Stretto, a bankruptcy administration firm, conducted the poll. The company categorized the eligible voters into four groups, three for ‘general unsecured claims’ and one for ‘account holder claims.’
Customers under the General unsecured claims category have low priority, and Voyager may not pay them until the clients under the account holder claims group are fully paid.
The fallen crypto broker said further information will follow after today’s hearing.
Voyager Files for Bankruptcy
Voyager filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last July, citing the company’s exposure to crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. At the time, the crypto broker revealed that it had over 100,000 creditors and about $9 billion in assets.
In December, after the purchase deal with FTX collapsed as a result of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire downfall, Voyager announced Binance.US, the American-based entity of the leading exchange Binance, as the highest bidder for the company’s assets.
If this deal goes through, Voyager clients will get up to 50% of their funds back.
In January 2023, the US bankruptcy court granted the crypto broker permission to enter into an acquisition agreement with Binance.US and to conduct a vote among its customers on the sale. However, the deal will only be finalized after today’s court hearing.
No Easy Way Out for the Bankrupt Crypto Broker
There could be some roadblocks to the purchase agreement, with several US regulators like Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) questioning the deal.
Last week, the SEC announced that it had launched an investigation to find out whether Voyager violated registration, anti-fraud, along with other securities laws. The regulator also alleged that Voyager didn’t explain if Binance.US would have access to customer funds.
Meanwhile, FTC alleges that if the acquisition deal is approved, it would unlawfully bar Voyager from being held accountable for willful misconduct, actual fraud, and gross negligence.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYFDS) also accuses Voyager of onboarding New York customers without a license.