Binance and other crypto companies are preparing bids to acquire the shaky cryptocurrency bank, Voyager Digital, following the collapse of the FTX exchange, which had originally agreed to acquire it.
Voyager filed for protection from its creditors in July after defaulting on a $670 million loan repayment to cryptocurrency hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital.
Voyager was to be acquired by FTX’s US subsidiary (FTX US) for $1.4 billion, which was the highest bidder in a related auction.
Suspension of withdrawals by Voyager
Voyager’s customers cannot withdraw their money after the suspension of withdrawals by the company in the wake of the turmoil in the industry caused by the bankruptcy of FTX.
Binance, which had participated in the auction, confirmed reports that its US subsidiary, (Binance.US) plans to bid to rescue Voyager from bankruptcy.
Binance will allocate $1 billion to support troubled companies
Speaking to Bloomberg, Binance CEO Changping Chao said that its US subsidiary “will make another bid for Voyager now, as FTX can no longer meet its commitment.”
Chao also set up a $1 billion fund to support troubled companies in the industry.
CrossTower, a platform for crypto and NFT trading, was among the companies that initially competed to acquire Voyager in the auction. The company said it plans to make a new bid.
Wave Financial is also preparing a new bid to acquire Voyager.
Voyager customers are hoping that the company’s rescue will include the cryptocurrency VGX created by Voyager.
In August, Voyager stopped trading and transfers of VGX and outlined a plan to exchange its customers’ currency for new coins on another blockchain. Its price has fallen 85% since the beginning of the year, and its future remains unclear.
With information from CNBC