- The SEC and NY regulators oppose Binance’s acquisition of Voyager.
- SEC claims the transaction may be illegal under securities laws.
- Binance is facing regulatory actions and investigations into potential money laundering.
According to court documents, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York’s top financial regulators are claimed to have opposed Binance’s $1 billion agreement to buy the cryptocurrency lender Voyager. This is currently in a string of regulatory actions against crypto companies.
Additionally, a filing by the SEC asserted that the planned transaction might be illegal under laws governing the unregistered offer and sale of securities. It also claimed that a U.S. investigation could make the transaction impossible.
Voyager, one of many cryptocurrency businesses affected by the collapse in token values in 2022, filed for bankruptcy in July. Moreover, Voyager received preliminary court clearance for the deal last month.
On the other hand, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment cautioned that the deal might be delayed or blocked by a national security review by the United States.
Further, the state’s chief financial watchdog and the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, opposed the deal. The New York Department of Financial Services claims that Voyager operated an unlicensed virtual currency business within the state.
Notably, the SEC is targeting businesses that provide various cryptocurrency services, including stablecoins and “staking,” which has prompted the complaints. For instance, Paxos Trust Company, the BUSD stablecoin issuer, was informed by the SEC that it ought to have registered the product as a security.
Reuters reported that the US Justice Department is looking into potential money laundering and sanctions violations at the international Binance exchange. The Wall Street Journal was informed last week by a senior official at Binance that Binance anticipated paying fines to end the investigations.
