Binance Announces Plans to Acquire Another Crypto Failure

In Brief

• Binance.US is preparing a bid for the assets of defunct lending platform Voyager Digital, previously won by FTX.US.
• Voyager recently canceled the acquisition deal following the collapse of FTX.
• One expert claims that Voyager could sue FTX for breaching it acquisition contract.

Binance will reportedly put forward a new bid for Voyager Digital, following the cancellation of the winning bid made by FTX.

Binance.US, the American division of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to make a bid for Voyager. Concerns over national security had negated Binance’s previous attempt to acquire the U.S.-based lending platform.

Meanwhile, other bidders could still prevail, including Wave Financial and trading platform Cross Tower.

FTX Failed Bid
FTX.US had won the previous auction for Voyager’s assets on Sept. 26, with a bid of $1.42 billion, outbidding Binance. However, with the collapse last week, Voyager recently announced that it canceled the deal.

Notably, one expert explained that Voyager could press charges against FTX for breaching its acquisition contract. However, he admitted that this could be difficult. This is because the case could only be against FTX.US, while the assets are likely held in trust.

“So any cause of action they have could end up being behind all the customers,” he argued. “And the problem is that if customers aren’t going to be made whole, then what’s your unsecured claim going to be worth?”

Binance Rivalry With FTX
As Binance approaches appropriating assets designated for FTX, commentators have highlighted the role the former’s CEO played in the latter’s downfall.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said early last week that his exchange would liquidate its holding of FTX tokens. This triggered a selloff of the token and a liquidity crunch for FTX that caused its bankruptcy.

Although FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said he regrets “getting into a battle” with Zhao, the Binance CEO saw it differently. While Bankman-Fried may have perceived the announcement as malicious, Zhao said it had been instigated by a revelation.

Zhao clarified his position in a recent appearance on SquawkBox. “We don’t focus on other smaller exchanges,” he said. “Focusing our energy there doesn’t give us the best return.”

He emphasized that helping to grow the industry produced the best return in his mind. “So, we’re much more focused on how to grow the industry healthily, together with other exchanges,” Zhao said.

To this end, Zhao announced the launch of a recovery fund earlier this week. It will go to supporting otherwise financially sound firms struggling in the wake of the FTX collapse. “The projects that survive this difficult time are actually going to be much stronger later on,” he said earlier.

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