FTX Opposition to $1B Binance Deal Is 'Hypocrisy and Chutzpah,' Voyager Says

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital has defended its $1 billion plan to sell assets to Binance.US, calling criticisms “hypocrisy and chutzpah” based on unverified speculation, two legal filings posted late Sunday night show.

The plan has been opposed by Alameda Research, the trading arm of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Justice (DoJ) and numerous state-level regulators, with a hearing due to be held at a New York bankruptcy court on Tuesday.

Doubts expressed by the SEC, alongside financial regulators from New York, Texas and Vermont and the U.S. Trustee, the bankruptcy division of the DoJ, about whether Binance.US can afford the deal are “misplaced,” Voyager said.

“Raising Disclosure Statement objections based on unsubstantiated and unverified media reports while ignoring the substantial information already made available to the Objectors is a naked attempt to undermine the Binance.US Transaction and attack Binance.US,” the filing added.

An attempt by Alameda to oppose the deal on the grounds that it breaches the hierarchies of creditors set out in U.S. bankruptcy law meets a still frostier reception. Alameda's objections "evince hypocrisy and chutzpah at its finest” and are “frivolous,” the Voyager filing said. FTX and Alameda had previously attempted to bail out Voyager, before declaring bankruptcy on Nov. 11.

Voyager “only entered into the AlamedaFTX Loan Facility based on AlamedaFTX’s fraudulent and false representations,” it added, saying FTX’s own attempted purchase of Voyager was “a last-ditch effort to mask the holes on its own balance sheet resulting from their apparent fraud.”

FTX’s new chief executive officer, John Ray, has criticized perceived mismanagement and poor record-keeping by his predecessor Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud and money laundering.

The filing also hit out at what it called a “hypocritical” stance from state regulators, who opposed a scenario in which residents of Vermont, New York, Texas and Hawaii would receive cash payouts while others would get crypto.

“They object to the fact that Account Holders in their jurisdiction would receive cash when it would be their own regulatory decisions (unless they decide to provide fairly straightforward, basic accommodations to their own citizens) creating this result,” the filing said.

Voyager – supported by a committee representing its creditors – said the Binance deal represents the best available option for those owed money by the estate in a volatile crypto market, and added that there were still escape routes to the deal if a better option was identified later.

Read more: Binance.US Agrees to Buy Voyager's Assets for $1.02B