Binance.US to bid for bankrupt crypto lender Voyager: CoinDesk

Binance.US — the American arm of the largest crypto exchange by volume, Binance — is preparing to bid for bankrupt lender Voyager Digital, CoinDesk reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the plans.

Binance had previously made a $50 million bid for Voyager but lost it to FTX.US. But since FTX Group filed for bankruptcy protection last week, Voyager began another round of bidding for its assets.

Other bidders for Voyager included crypto investment manager Wave Financial and trading platform CrossTower. A CrossTower spokesperson told Axios earlier this week that the firm intends to submit a revised bid.

Voyager was founded in 2019 and went public that year via a reverse merger. It filed for bankruptcy protection in July due to its over $650 million exposure to the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

It remains to be seen who emerges as a new winning bidder for Voyager. The firm hadn't transferred any assets to FTX.US in connection with the previously proposed transaction. FTX.US had submitted Voyager a $5 million "good faith" deposit as part of the auction process, which is held in escrow.

At the time of FTX Group's Chapter 11 filing, Voyager maintained a balance of around $3 million at FTX — substantially comprised of locked LUNA2 and locked SRM that it was unable to withdraw because they remain subject to vesting schedules, Voyager said earlier this week.

The firm, however, recalled loans from Alameda Research for 6,500 BTC and 50,000 ETH, and currently has no loans outstanding with any borrower, it said.

The Voyager token, VGX, is trading 40% up today on the news of a potential bid by Binance.

The Block has reached out to Binance and Voyager for a comment and will update this story should we hear back.