Cryptocurrency lending platform Voyager Digital on Wednesday received initial court approval to sell its assets to exchange FTX. The total, as CriptoFácil advanced, is US$ 1.42 billion, or about R$ 7.3 billion in current values. With the authorization given by the court, the last step is the approval of the sale by the creditors, since the money from the operation will go towards the payment of the funds trapped in Voyager. If customers approve the purchase, they will be able to recover 72% of the cryptocurrencies they had before the bankruptcy filing. According to court documents, Voyager account holders or primary creditors have the equivalent of $1.76 billion in receivables. These parties have priority in the payment of any debts contracted by the company.
Operation confirmed
Voyager Digital on October 19 received initial approval from the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to sell its assets to FTX for $1.42 billion. The authorization allows Voyager to go ahead and get votes from creditors on the proposal. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles stated that he would approve the sales agreement and creditor application materials. However, he determined that Voyager should keep options open for bigger and better offers. In addition, the sale of the assets will not be completed until the creditors approve the proposed sale to FTX. FTX won an auction last month to acquire assets from Voyager Digital, beating Binance in the running. If the sale is approved by the creditors, their accounts would become the responsibility of FTX, which would reimburse the lost funds. Therefore, the operation would allow customers to recover 72% of the cryptocurrencies blocked since the beginning of the platform’s bankruptcy. However, the value of these cryptocurrencies has decreased since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Therefore, the amount receivable may be lower. The judge likely took into account Voyager’s below-total amount of debt as a reason for ordering the exchange to remain open to looking for better deals. Now, creditors will have to vote on whether or not to accept the deal by November 29. Afterwards, final approval must take place at a hearing in December. Meanwhile, Voyager is still looking to recoup its money from Three Arrows Capital, a cryptocurrency fund that has also filed for bankruptcy.
Texas regulators investigate FTX
Texas regulators, as well as the Texas Department of Banking, opposed the sale of Voyager’s assets to FTX US. Both bodies are investigating the exchange for allegedly offering unregistered securities to US residents. They believe the FTX accounts are similar to Voyager Digital’s yield deposit accounts. Because it offers interest, the product could not be available to US customers without authorization from regulators. Meanwhile, FTX transferred 50,000 ETH worth nearly $65 million to Voyager Digital’s main wallet. However, it is unclear whether the transfer is related to any settlement payments.
