Cryptocurrency consortium Fahrenheit emerges as the successful bidder in acquiring bankrupt lender Celsius Network, securing nearly $2 billion worth of assets.

According to court filings submitted on May 25, Fahrenheit’s cryptocurrency consortium successfully acquired the bankrupt lender Celsius Network, whose assets were initially valued at almost $2 billion.

Court filings stated that the company would purchase Celsius’ institutional loan portfolio, staked cryptocurrency portfolio, mining operation, and other alternative investments. The group also has three days to submit a $10 million deposit to finalize the acquisition.

Following a lengthy auction procedure, Fahrenheit, a group of purchasers that includes the venture capital company Arrington Capital and miner US Bitcoin Corp, was chosen as the winning bidder.

According to the terms of the agreement, US Bitcoin Corp would build several cryptocurrency mining facilities, including a new 100-megawatt plant, and the new business will get between $450 and $500 million in liquid cryptocurrency.

Despite being accepted by Celsius and a committee of its creditors, the acquisition still needs approval from the authorities. Judge Martin Glenn of the Bankruptcy Court previously warned that “regulatory roadblocks” would prevent the sale of Celsius, just as they did for another lender’s acquisition. Celsius filed for bankruptcy last July after plummeting cryptocurrency prices sparked a bank-run-style rush of withdrawals that exposed the platform’s serious liquidity issues. 

Prolonged auction delayed Celsius Network acquisition

The collapse of the exchange was a sign of things to come for the cryptocurrency sector, which eventually experienced the failure of several other well-known crypto exchanges, lenders, and venture capital firms, sending the industry into a protracted deep freeze.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Kwasteniet observed that Celsius’ auction took longer than anticipated. The company was given the go-ahead to start bidding in October 2022.

However, it started accepting offers in January 2023. Celsius rejected the proposals because they were of low value. At that time, NovaWulf offered up to $55 million.