Voyager Digital, the lender whose collapse into bankruptcy worsened this year’s crypto market crisis, is attracting takeover interest from some of the biggest players in the space including exchanges Binance and FTX, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S.-based exchange Coinbase (COIN) evaluated a deal but withdrew, one person said.
Bids for Voyager assets are due Sept. 6 in a sale process taking place through its bankruptcy case. An auction, if needed to pick a winner, would follow on Sept. 29. Voyager Digital’s native coin voyager (VGX) surged more than 40% after CoinDesk reported the story, according to CoinMarketCap.
According to a presentation from the company’s lawyers earlier this month, at least 22 investors had gone through due diligence and indicated their interest in bidding for Voyager’s assets, so Binance, FTX and Coinbase are likely not the only suitors.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is keen to purchase Voyager, according to industry sources who have learned of the company’s interest. “Binance is excited and pursuing hard,” one of the people said. The exchange is “pushing hard on buying into institutional,” a second person said.
“We have a policy to only disclose deals after they are complete and cannot confirm or deny any potential deals,” a Binance spokesperson said. In an interview with the New York Times published last week, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Voyager – as well as Celsius Network, another crypto lender in bankruptcy – had approached his company to discuss selling assets. “Our team’s engaging in all of those conversations,” he said in the interview.