| Fahrenheit, a crypto consortium involving blockchain-based venture capital (VC) firm Arrington Capital and crypto miner US Bitcoin Corp, has won a bid to acquire the assets of the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network LLD, which were previously valued at around $2B. As
part of the deal, Fahrenheit will provide the capital, management team,
and technology to found and operate a new company owned by Celsius'
creditors. - The acquisition includes Celsius' institutional loan portfolio, staked cryptocurrencies, mining unit, and other alternative investments.
- Fahrenheit will have three days to guarantee the agreement by paying a $10M deposit.
- Celsius account holders will own 100% of the equity in the new entity.
- The new company will be supervised by a renewed board of directors, which will substantially be appointed by creditors.
- According
to the deal terms, US Bitcoin Corp will build a number of crypto mining
facilities, including a new 100-megawatt plant, and the new
creditors-owned entity will get $450M to $500M in liquid cryptocurrency.
- The Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), a holding company affiliated with Gemini Trust owned by the U.S. crypto exchange Gemini's founders, has won the backup bid.
- The acquisition needs to be approved by the regulators to finalize.
- Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022, mainly due to its liquidity
issues and the crypto market downturn triggered by the multi-billion
dollar Terra ecosystem's collapse that wiped over $60B off the crypto
market.
- The
firm initially launched the auction for its assets in April this year
to find a buyer who would move its crypto lending and mining businesses
out of bankruptcy.
- Rival bidder NovaWulf lost the bid following the latest deal, though it was once the favorite of Celsius.
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