Journalists reveal Gemini and Coinbase involvement in Celsius asset auction

Bitcoin exchanges Gemini and Coinbase have become bidders in the auction for the assets of the Celsius Network platform currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. It will take place on April 25.

Indirectly pointing to Coinbase’s role as the largest US crypto exchange is a tweet by Arrington Capital founder Michael Arrington. It stated that Coinbase backed the Fahrenheit consortium — one of the bidders — with a commitment to custody of digital assets and other infrastructure services.

In addition to Arrington’s venture firm, the group also includes Proof Group Capital Management, former Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos, and investment banker Ravi Kaza.

Fahrenheit’s proposal is to create a new company led by a ‘group of vetted crypto operators’ to handle ‘significant bitcoin mining infrastructure, retail and institutional lending, various digital assets, and a venture-capital portfolio’.

Another bidder was the Blockchain Recovery Investment Committee, formed by Gemini, VanEck, Global X Digital, and Plutus Lending.

Earlier, joined NovaWulf Digital Management.

The organization’s proposal contemplates a direct cash contribution of between $45 million and $55 million and the creation of a new crypto-lending platform wholly owned by Celsius’s creditors. It is expected that if approved, customers would recover up to 70% of their funds.

On 13 June 2022 Celsius paused withdrawals, exchanges and transfers between accounts.

A month later, the platform filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company’s liabilities exceeded its assets by $2.85 billion.

In September, the platform’s CEO Alex Mashinsky left his post.

In early 2023 the New York attorney general charged Celsius’s CEO with deceiving investors in a multi-billion-dollar fraud.