A Binance spokesperson said that “xenophobia,” is the underlying discussion of a review by an important U.S. government panel, which examines foreign takeovers. According to sources familiar with the matter, Binance tried to buy assets of crypto lender Voyager Digital through a bankruptcy auction. However, there were concerns that the U.S. government might reject the deal.
The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) reviews any purchase of U.S.-based companies by foreign entities. It blocks transactions it considers to be a national security threat.
U.S. Government could block binance from purchase voyager capitals assets
CFIUS under President Donald Trump took a dim view of takeovers from Chinese companies. His successor Joe Biden just this weeks signed an executive order “designed for sharpening the federal government’s power to block Chinese investment technology in the United States .
Changpeng Zhao was born in China, but was raised in Canada. Binance has refuted claims that the company is Chinese. Zhao provided details about his family in a recent post. In a Sept. 1 posting, he stated that he was a Canadian citizen.
According to one person familiar with the matter, Binance was asked to increase its bid to insure against a CFIUS review. This could delay acquisitions.
Patrick Hillmann, chief communications officer of the company, stated that Binance had made investments in countless American companies directly and through Binance Labs. “Binance was never the subject of an inquiry by CFIUS, either officially or unofficially.”
Binance is a Canadian company owned by Canadian citizens
Hillmann added that Binance was a Canadian company entirely owned by Canadian citizens. The very nature of our receiving [a question regarding CFIUS concerns] was almost as alarming as the “violation of confidentiality” that resulted from information leaked from the bankruptcy auction.
Jessica Jung, another Binance spokesperson, reached out to Hillmann and stated that Hillmann had misspoken, and Binance is an international company, not a Canadian one.
CoinDesk reported that FTX has the highest bid for Voyager at present. However, additional offers may soon come in. Sam Bankman-Fried is FTX’s billionaire founder, and CEO. He was born in California. His company is located in Antigua and has its headquarters in Bahamas. Voyager has U.S. customers, but is headquartered in Canada.
The official decision on Voyager assets will not be made until the end this month. This gives Binance and others time to possibly top FTX.
