The official made their statement at the bankruptcy court for Voyager.
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission representative said that agency staff thinks that Binance US is running an unregistered securities exchange in the United States and that Voyager Digital’s sale of VGX tokens violates federal securities laws.
At a bankruptcy hearing to determine whether Voyager should be sold to Binance US, SEC Senior Trial Counsel William Uptegrove said that he was replying to New York’s Southern District Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles, who stated at the opening of the hearing that the SEC had offered no direction or facts about their opposition to the Voyager transaction.
“The staff feels that the offering and sale of VGX tokens bears the characteristics of a securities transaction,” he stated. Moreover, the staff thinks that Binance US operates an unlicensed securities exchange in the United States.
The person added that the opinions of SEC staff may not always represent those of the five agency commissioners. He did not indicate if the SEC was planning any enforcement proceedings related to his announcement.
Generally, the SEC staff initiates an enforcement action, but most commissioners must vote to continue the process.
Uptegrove’s remarks match those of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has said that he thinks the bulk of crypto trading platforms should be regulated as national securities exchanges, bringing them within the agency’s transparency and regulatory structure.
As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, Voyager intends to sell its assets to Binance. Most of Voyager’s creditors, 97%, have backed the idea, and a three-day hearing is now underway to debate the plan.
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