Binance.US Could Be in Violation of Securities Law
Rebeca Moen Feb 26, 2023 09:24
SEC opposes Binance. US acquisition of nearly $1 billion in Voyager Digital assets.
Binance.plan US's to buy over one billion dollars' worth of assets that had belonged to the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Voyager Digital has been met with opposition from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is of the opinion, as stated in a document that was filed on February 22 with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, that certain aspects of the asset restructuring plan of Binance.US' acquisition may violate securities law.
Formal inquiries have been opened by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the possibility that Binance.US and other associated debtors violated anti-fraud, registration, and other requirements of the federal securities laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission expressed special worry on the safety of assets during the course of the intended purchase.
The SEC contends that the information provided in the planned purchase of Voyager assets does not adequately outline whether Binance.US or affiliated third parties will have access to customer wallet keys or control over anyone who has access to such wallets. The SEC's argument is based on the fact that the information was provided in connection with the planned purchase of Voyager assets.
In addition, the lawsuit claims that inadequate measures have been provided to guarantee that user assets are not moved outside of the Binance.US platform. Additionally, the SEC contends that Binance.US has not stated its internal controls and processes that are designed to protect the assets of its customers.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested that Binance.US address these concerns by providing information on who has access to client funds and the required controls after the transaction has been executed.
The first phase of Binance.strategy US's and disclosure statement for its bid on Voyager is the primary focus of the SEC's attention at this time. The U.S. regulator's primary worry is that the firm will retain the right to sell bitcoins belonging to Voyager in order to distribute them to account holders. However, the company will not use this power.
On the other hand, "however, the Debtors (Binance.US) have yet to establish that they would be able to make such transactions in conformity with the federal securities laws."
According to the petition, a number of different cryptocurrency transactions will need to take place in order to rebalance money before they can be redistributed to account holders. The SEC thinks that these transactions may violate certain provisions of the Securities Act.
The regulating body contends that the disclosure statement provided by Binance.US and the other debtors does not address the likelihood that these transactions violate any applicable laws. It is hypothesized that this possibility might have an effect on the estimated 51 percent of recovered monies that were distributed to Voyager account holders and claims.
In the filing, there is a footnote that discusses the possibility of Voyager purchasing and then selling certain digital assets in order to rebalance their asset holdings. The possible sale of Voyager Tokens (VGX), which were issued by Voyager, has been brought to the attention of the SEC because it "may constitute the unregistered offer or sale of securities under federal law."
According to the SEC, there is a possibility that Binance.US is performing the functions of an exchange in violation of the laws that are currently in place under the Exchange Act. If this is the case, Binance.US is in violation of the law because it is not registered as a national securities exchange and does not have an exemption from these requirements.
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