FTX’s Bankman-Fried is considering bidding for Celsius’ assets
The founder and CEO of digital-asset exchange FTX is considering bidding for the assets of bankrupt lender Celsius Network, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Sam Bankman-Fried has been rescuing distressed crypto firms and recently bought several of them.
FTX has already managed to acquire the assets of the bankrupt crypto brokerage house Voyager Digital Ltd. this week after winning an auction with a bid of around $50 million, Blockchain.News reported.
In addition to its lending business, Celsius owns major Bitcoin mining operations and a crypto custody business. The company filed for bankruptcy in July this year.
However, it is unclear which of Bankman-Fried’s crypto companies – the FTX crypto exchange or the trading firm Alameda Research – will bid for some or all of Celsius’ assets.
According to data from CoinGeckoCelsius’ token, CEL, jumped as much as 9.9% on the trend before pulling back again.
Crypto platform BlockFi was also under FTX’s acquisition radar earlier this year, along with a potential takeover of Robinhood Markets Inc., in which Bankman-Fried owns a stake.
According to a source, FTX is in the process of raising a financing round of 1 billion dollars. The deal has not yet been finalized or made public, the source familiar with the deal added.
Negotiations are reportedly ongoing and confidential, and the company will raise as much as $1 billion to retain its previous $32 billion valuation. Still, conditions can change, according to sources.
Meanwhile, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned on Tuesday.
Mashinsky co-founded Celsius Network with Daniel Leon back in 2017, and the firm grew to become one of the most famous crypto lending platforms in the crypto world.
However, the company’s operations hit the rocks in June when it halted withdrawals and eventually declared bankruptcy after realizing that internal restructuring and layoffs would be insufficient to help solve its liquidity problems.
Following his resignation, the crypto firm and its creditors are considering a number of options, ranging from restructuring to liquidation.
In August, the company said it received several offers of new cash to fund the restructuring process.
Mashinsky’s resignation comes at a time when the company is deep in bankruptcy proceedings, and the former CEO said his departure would position him in a better place to help all stakeholders get the best out of the company in the end.
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