blockworks.co
The Fahrenheit Consortium has officially won the bidding process to acquire crypto lender Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.
Fahrenheit, which is made up of equity owners Arrington Capital, US Bitcoin Corp and investment firm Proof Group Capital Management, will need to put down a $10 million deposit in cash within three business days to lock down the sale, according to court documents filed on May 25.
Fahrenheit will take control of $450 million to $500 million worth of liquid crypto as a result of the deal. It will also subsume Celsius’ institutional loan portfolio, its crypto staked on DeFi protocols, and its mining operations, which US Bitcoin will manage.
Additionally, US Bitcoin will build and be responsible for energizing a new 100 megawatt bitcoin mining facility, per the filing.
Celsius initiated the bidding process over a month ago. At the time, the leading candidate was Novawulf; the investment firm that managed the bankruptcy process.
A week ago, though, Fahrenheit overtook competing bids from Novawulf and Blockchain Recovery Investment Committee (BRIC). BRIC did however submit a qualifying bid, according to the filing.
Even though Celsius and the creditors have signed off on the acquisition, it is possible that US regulators may intervene at some point. In a document submitted back in October 2022, US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said there are no precedents with crypto related cases, such as Celsius’ bankruptcy proceedings.
“Many, or [perhaps] most, cases involving cryptocurrency may raise legal issues for
which there are no controlling legal precedents in this Circuit or elsewhere in the United
States or in other countries in which cases arise,” Glenn wrote.
Blockworks reported in July 2022 that Celsius had a $1.7 billion hole to fill. As such, the company had $5.5 billion in liabilities and $4.3 billion in assets at the time.