Celsius auction has Gemini and Coinbase as new bidders: Report

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Two new consortia will vie for assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network in an auction scheduled for April 25 in New York. Cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini and Coinbase are participating in the bid, according to the report and court filings.

court documents show One such consortium is Fahrenheit, backed by Arrington Capital, a venture capital firm owned by blockchain investor Michael Arrington. Other participants in the consortium are Proof Group Capital Management, former Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos and investment banker Ravi Kaza.

Arlington mentioned Coinbase was one of the companies backing the Fahrenheit consortium in a now-deleted tweet on April 22, according to a Fortune report. Coinbase declined to comment for this publication.

The second group bid for the Celsius asset is the Blockchain Recovery Investment Commission, backed by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, fund manager Van Eck, Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Global X Digital and Plutus Lending.

Both consortia are fighting NovaWulf Digital Management for assets. NovaWulf Digital Management is called a “stalking horse bidder”. The term is used to describe the initial bidder of a company in bankruptcy and sets the standard for other bidders. NovaWulf’s proposal includes a direct cash contribution of $45 million to his $55 million and the creation of a new public platform wholly owned by Celsius creditors. NovaWulf’s proposal expects customers to recover up to 70% of their funds.

Based on Arlington’s tweet, the Fahrenheit Consortium also suggest Creation of a new company “with the sole purpose of growing these assets and bringing stakeholders together.” The company will be operated by a “group of proven crypto operators” and will hold “substantial bitcoin mining assets, retail and institutional loans, various crypto core assets, and a venture capital portfolio.”

Auctions are an important step for Celsius customers to recover their funds. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022 after suspending withdrawals, citing “extreme market conditions” amid bankruptcy rumors.

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