Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Binance, other crypto firms line up bids for bankrupt Voyager Digital after FTX collapse

Binance, other crypto firms line up bids for bankrupt Voyager Digital after FTX collapse

Digital currency lender Voyager Digital has been set back to square one after FTX, which had initially agreed to acquire the firm, filed for bankruptcy.
Binance and other crypto firms are preparing takeover offers for beleaguered digital currency lender Voyager Digital after FTX, which had initially agreed to acquire the firm, filed for bankruptcy.

Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which seeks to restructure troubled firms as viable business operations, in July after crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital defaulted on a loan from the company worth $670 million.

Voyager was set to be acquired by FTX’s American unit, FTX U.S., for $1.4 billion after Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm won in a U.S. bankruptcy auction. It was then thrown back to square one after FTX itself filed for bankruptcy after experiencing its own bank run-style surge in withdrawals.

Customers of Voyager have been unable to get their funds out since it paused withdrawals amid an industry-wide liquidity crisis.

This week, Binance confirmed reports that its U.S. subsidiary Binance.US plans to make an offer to rescue Voyager from collapse. Binance.US had previously offered to buy Voyager as part of its insolvency auction.

Speaking on Bloomberg, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Binance.US “will make another bid for Voyager now, given FTX is no longer able to follow through on that commitment.”

Zhao has also set up a $1 billion fund aimed at supporting ailing companies in the industry.
CrossTower, a crypto and NFT trading platform, was among the parties that initially competed to buy Voyager in

the court auction. The company says it plans to make a renewed offer for the company — though details are scant for now.

CrossTower is “submitting a revised bid, one it feels will benefit both the customers and the wider crypto community,” a CrossTower spokesperson told CNBC via email.

CrossTower is also planning its own separate industry recovery fund. The firm told CNBC it doesn’t view the fund as “competing” with Binance’s.

“This is about stabilizing an industry, regaining trust and rebuilding what is arguably the future of finance,” the CrossTower spokesman said.

“We will do so, with funds and talent, and we will collaborate with governments and policy makers and promote transparency. One venture fund did not build the technology industry and one recovery fund will not rebuild this one.”

Meanwhile, Wave Financial is also planning to make a fresh offer to acquire Voyager, after having initially lost out to FTX, according to a report from London’s Financial News newspaper.

Matteo Perruccio, president of international for Wave, declined to comment on the report when contacted by CNBC via WhatsApp. Last month, Perruccio told CNBC his company “felt that our bid was better for the investors and the debtors.”

Wave’s bid “saw us reinvigorating VGX,” Voyager’s exchange token, he said in the October interview.

Voyager customers are hopeful that any corporate bailout of the firm will include VGX, a token that was created by Voyager as a kind of loyalty rewards program, offering discounts on trading fees.

“We also had some, I think, pretty clever ideas about how to bring traffic at a much lower cost of acquisition at a higher per customer balance, which were the two big problems at Voyager,” Perruccio told CNBC in October.

In August, Voyager paused trading and transfers of VGX and outlined a plan for customers to swap their tokens for new coins on a separate blockchain. The fate of the token, which has fallen over 85% since the start of the year, remains unclear.

FTX U.S. had offered to buy all the VGX held by Voyager and its affiliates for $10 million. But Voyager said it was working to find a “higher and better solution” for the token that was compatible with FTX U.S.′ offer.

FTX U.S. is now part of bankruptcy proceedings in a Delaware court, along with its parent company and other affiliates including Alameda Research. The company’s offer was initially rejected by Voyager, which called it a “low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.”

Another player involved in the messy restructuring process is Ethos.io, a startup Voyager had acquired in 2019. Voyager only acquired Ethos.io’s technology, and the firm is planning to revive itself as a separate brand after Voyager’s collapse.

Shingo Lavine, co-founder of Ethos.io, says his firm’s technology was core to helping Voyager build out its crypto capabilities. Voyager saw significant growth after offering support for dogecoin, a meme-inspired digital coin, he added.

Adam Lavine, Shingo’s father and fellow co-founder of Ethos.io, said the company has established its own recovery program for VGX holders and Voyager creditors and has “seen a good response so far across the Voyager community.”

So far, “several thousand users representing 10% of the total VGX market cap” have signed up to the recovery initiative, the elder Lavine said. Voyager was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
0:00
0:00
Open
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
0:00
0:00
Close
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Man Convicted of Fraud After Booking Over 120 Free Flights Posing as Flight Attendant
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Hungarian Parliament Approves Citizenship Suspension Law
Prime Minister Orbán Criticizes EU's Ukraine Accession Plans
Hungarian Delicacies Introduced to Japanese Market
Hungary's Industrial Output Rises Amid Battery Sector Slump
President Sulyok Celebrates 15 Years of Hungarian Unity Efforts
Hungary's Szeleczki Shines at World Judo Championships
Visegrád Construction Trends Diverge as Hungary Lags
Hungary Hosts National Quantum Technology Workshop
Hungarian Animation Featured at Annecy Festival
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
UK and EU Reach New Economic Agreement
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Austrian School Shooting Leaves Nine Dead in Graz
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
×