Regulators from New York and federal finance have filed objections to the $1.02 billion deal proposed by Binance.US to acquire assets from the bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital.As per Feb 22 filings, it could be discriminatory and unlawful.
As per SEC “It is the Debtors’ burden to present credible evidence that the provisions of the Plan are feasible and not in violation of applicable law,” As per New York State’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and Attorney General Letitia James, the filings contained allegations that Voyager was serving customers in the state unlawfully.
Voyager was not available for New York residents in the recent years hence these allegations should have been before Voyager banned NY residents unless there was some form of loophole where residents could obtain the account. If this holds true, this merger potentially may not happen due to the charges involved which appears to be serious.
As per New York State’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), “Despite the fact that none of the Debtors are licensed in New York, the Department is aware of allegations and other information indicating that one or more of the Debtors may have operated and may be continuing to operate in New York in violation of Applicable Law,”
Conclusion
Based on recent development, regulators have gone full fledged war on crypto industry in the United while other countries are progressing by adopting them. Coinbase has faced challenges in achieving growth due to the lack of clear regulatory guidelines, as acknowledged by its CEO, Brian Armstrong. In a recent tweet responding to Hong Kong news, Armstrong expressed his frustration with the situation, as shown below.
What potentially may happen is crypto companies leaving US hub towards Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore which will leave US behind the blockchain revolution. You may want to read more on “Hong Kong plans to make crypto purchase and trading legal for all of its citizens”
Pic Source – Unsplash.
