Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the CEO of Binance, hinted in a tweet on March 3rd that Binance would back out of the contentious $1.02 billion deal to acquire Voyager.
After it was approved, the Binance/Voyager agreement has come under investigation because it was opposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The tweet by CZ was published following the most recent Voyager bankruptcy court session on March 2, at which the court would have decided whether or not to approve the purchase.
Here is CZ’s tweet in reaction to the most recent bankruptcy hearing for Voyager:
You come here and tell me … that I should stop everybody in their tracks because you might have an issue, It’s kind of a weird objection. I get the feeling that this objection has been made as a kind of cover, so you can say later that we’ll see we raised these issues. You haven’t really, you have done nothing … I need to know specifics.
– Michael Wiles, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge
Unexpectedly, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles launched into a tirade attacking the SEC’s objection to the Binance/Voyager agreement at the start of the bankruptcy court hearing.
The Judge questioned why the SEC was delaying the process without cause because they had not provided any details in their objection.
The SEC and other regulatory bodies, according to Judge Wiles, only opposed to the sale now so that they wouldn’t later be able to potentially turn around and cause problems. This is a great point.
SEC Senior Trial Counsel William Uptegrove responded to these scathing remarks made by Judge Wiles by saying that he agrees with Binance. “Unregistered securities exchange” is run by US.
As Voyager made their own VGX tokens available to the public for purchase and sale, he continued by asserting that it, too, is an unregulated securities market.
However, after making these assertions, the lawyer clarified that the SEC had not reached any conclusions on these matters and that these assertions were merely the staff members’ individual opinions.
After the hearing was over, Binance.US lost little time in reacting to the accusations with a statement that pointed out the SEC had made claims without being precise or describing how they were made.
Judge Michael Wiles did not like this and deconstructed the SEC’s peculiar case by labeling it unprofessional. He also expressed disbelief at how SEC staff employees could make personal claims without providing any supporting information.
It is regrettable that an SEC staff member would make allegations, that Binance.US and platforms like ours are operating an unregistered exchange, without specifying the assets listed on our exchange that the SEC considers to be securities. We, along with others in our industry, remain committed to constructive dialogue with regulators and supporting a comprehensive regulatory framework drafted and passed by Congress to ensure innovation continues in the United States.
– Binance.US Spokesperson
I think it’s also crucial to point out that all of this drama has occurred after customers approved the Binance/Voyager merger with 97% of the vote
As a Voyager customer/victim, I just want this to be over and will accept any cryptocurrency or assets I receive in exchange.
We are just so sick of the entire process, which is why I believe 97% of voters approved of this agreement.
What do you think about this news?
Do you believe the Binance/Voyager transaction will be successful?
Are you astonished that the Judge is genuinely opposing these corrupt regulatory organizations?