Celsius Network [CEL], the New Jersey-based bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company, managed to set the date for auctioning its assets. As per the document filed with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on 3 October, Celsius will have its final auction on 17 October.
Furthermore, a sale hearing would occur on 1 November via Zoom before Chief US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn. This event is anticipated to have the participation of a large number of interested parties.
Troubled exchange to find a bidder
It was in June 2022 that Celsius suspended asset withdrawals and transfers on its platform, citing “extreme” market conditions. The organization further filed for bankruptcy the following month. The exchange also stated that it had $167 million in liquidity to support its current operations and restructuring its business.
Celsius also disclosed that it owed its users $4.7 billion. Since then, 58,000 custodial account holders that together lost $150 million have come together to recover their funds.
Last month, the court allowed approved the appointment of Shoba Pillay as an independent examiner to provide a full report on Celsius’ assets and liabilities. However, Celsius was not the only crypto firm to have collapsed this year. TerraUSD stablecoin, hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto lender Voyager Digital also collapsed during the same phase, leading to the global crypto crash.
Crypto billionaire SBF considers acquiring Celsius
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried “SBF” has been considering to bail out the troubled exchange. The billionaire opined on Twitter that if FTX gets involved, then the bid for Celsius would be determined by fair market price, similar to its dealing with Voyager.
Recently, FTX successfully acquired the auctioned assets of Voyager with an offer of about $1.4 billion. Voyager claimed that the bid comprised the actual market value of its cryptocurrency assets at a determined period (roughly $1.3 billion). This was combined with $111 million of what it claimed was incremental value but did not provide any other information.
Celsius has been one of the most high-profile casualties of this year’s crypto crash, and how this case proceeds will have major repercussions on the industry.