Key takeaways:
- The Celsius auction is scheduled for Tuesday, and Coinbase and Gemini have joined the bidding for the bankrupt firm.
- The auction is predicted to be extremely heated, with two freshly formed consortiums bidding.
A forthcoming auction for the assets of the defunct cryptocurrency lender Celsius is generating interest, and two distinct consortiums have entered the race with the support of well-known crypto firms.
According to recent court records coupled with a report from Fortune the auction for the company currently appears to be locked in a three-way fight.
One of the new organisations that is attempting to replace Celsius, Fahrenheit, is supported by well-known VC Michael Arrington, the former CEO of the blockchain project Algorand, and investment banker Ravi Kaza, according to the filing.
The other is known as the Blockchain Recovery Investment Committee and is supported by organisations like the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust and the money manager VanEck, who is attempting to establish a cryptocurrency ETF.
Fahrenheit is the name of the allegedly Coinbase-backed consortium, which also purportedly has considerable support from venture capitalist Michael Arrington, according to the most recent bankruptcy filing information.
Arrington tweeted several times about Coinbase’s participation, which the exchange has neither confirmed nor denied. Coinbase has since removed those tweets.
Given that Fahrenheit is supported by seasoned crypto companies, experts think it has a higher chance of winning the auction. When Celsius told the bankruptcy judge last month that it planned to look for a better offer for its assets despite having one from NovaWulf in hand, the desire to solicit other offers became public knowledge.
The cryptocurrency lender stated at the time that if NovaWulf chose to move forward with a second bid, it would pay up to $20 million in break-up fees. Previously, NovaWulf intended to acquire all of the assets of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network and combine them with other companies once its debt was settled.
The auction is a crucial step for Celsius’ investors to get their money back. After stopping withdrawals, the company said in July 2022 that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming “extreme market conditions” and debunking rumours that it was bankrupt.