Binance.US has taken a significant step toward acquiring the assets of a bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital at a deal valued at more than $1 billion.

A bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, Michael Wiles, ruled in favor of the proposed acquisition and said he would review the confirmation order.

However, Binance.US may still face regulatory obstacles before the deal is finalized.

Voyager’s VGX token surged over 8% following the announcement.

The acquisition plan was drawn up after FTX, the previous bidder, filed for bankruptcy in November.

The deal was backed by 97% of Voyager’s creditors, who responded to the proposal with the potential to recover nearly three-quarters of their holdings.

During a lengthy hearing, Voyager’s attorneys told the court that creditors could potentially recover 73% of their investment, with a bullish crypto market increasing the previous estimate of 51%.

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Although there were objections from parties and regulators during the hearing, Judge Wiles ruled that many of those objections did not constitute a strong argument or unnecessarily slowed the process.

The objections raised related to complex issues, such as the transfer of personal data to Binance.US as part of the deal and the transfer, which represents a better deal for creditors than immediate liquidation.

There have also been concerns that Voyager customer data, including social security numbers, will be shared with Binance.US and stored in offshore databases.

An attorney representing Binance.US clarified that no employee would have access to this information.

Judge Wiles also commented that the transactions related to Voyager’s sale of VGX tokens were legitimate based on the evidence presented during the hearing.

Although Binance.US cleared a significant hurdle in acquiring Voyager’s assets, regulatory hurdles remain before the deal can close.