Binance.US cleared a chief hurdle in its effort to acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in a deal worth over $1 billion after Michael Wiles, a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, overruled the various objections to the proposed acquisition.

While the judge said he would still work through the confirmation order, he indicated he was in favor of approving the deal. Binance.US may still have to clear certain regulatory hurdles before the deal can be finalized. Voyager's VGX token surged over 8% in the minutes after the ruling.

The plan, assembled after previous bidder FTX itself filed for bankruptcy in November, had been supported by 97% of Voyager creditors who responded to the proposal, and could see them recovering nearly three quarters of their holdings.

The lengthy hearing started with good news for creditors, with Voyager lawyers saying creditors could potentially make a 73% recovery – with a bullish crypto market raising a previous estimate of 51%.