Over 4,761 Bitcoins have been withdrawn from the Binance crypto exchange in the last 24 hours, according to market data provided by Coinglass. This comes as a federal judge on Monday temporarily barred bankrupt Voyager Digital from completing a proposed $1.3 billion sale to crypto exchange Binance.US, providing the U.S. government more time to pursue arguments that challenge the legitimacy of the deal.
Additionally, over 5,253 Bitcoins have been withdrawn from the same exchange in the past seven days. As a result, Binance presently owns 534,784 Bitcoins in its reserves.
In early March, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Office of the US Trustee, a DOJ division in charge of managing bankruptcies, filed appeals against a bankruptcy court’s approval of the sale.
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The appeal came just one day after bankruptcy court’s Judge Michael Wiles approved the deal following a controversial four-day marathon hearing.
US District Judge Jennifer Rearden in Manhattan ruled Monday that the transaction should be put on hold, overruling Voyager’s claim that a delay could compel Binance.US to walk out of the agreement entirely.
Voyager’s official creditors’ committee, which represents clients’ interests regarding bankruptcies, said it was analyzing the situation and “will continue to aggressively oppose the Government’s efforts.”
Voyager, which filed for bankruptcy in July, said in court filings last week that the Justice Department’s appeal should be allowed to keep the company and its customers “in the dark” during the indeterminate length of the lawsuit.
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Binance.US has agreed to pay Voyager $20 million in cash to acquire crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. According to Voyager, those assets, which were valued at $1.3 billion as of February, make up the bulk of the deal’s valuation.
International cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been sued in a separate lawsuit by the United States. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against Binance.com, alleging it operates an “illegal” exchange and a “fake” compliance program.
Binance.US claims to be completely independent from Binance.com, which acts as the “US partner” of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The CFTC denied this in its lawsuit, claiming that Binance employees “dictated Binance.US`s corporate strategy, launch and early operations” and claimed it to have an ongoing relationship with BAM Trading, which was founded and controlled by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
After CFTC sued Binance and Zhao, total Bitcoin balances across all exchanges dropped significantly.
Information for this briefing was found via Reuters and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
