Crypto billionaire Bankman-Fried eyeing bid for Celsius assets

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, the crypto billionaire who has been bailing out distressed industry players in recent months, is considering bidding for the assets of bankrupt lender Celsius Network, according to a person familiar with his deal-making.

FTX is also in the process of raising a US$1 billion funding round, the same person said. That round hasn’t closed yet or been made public.

In addition to its lending business, Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy in July, owns large Bitcoin mining operations and a crypto custody business. It’s unclear if Bankman-Fried’s crypto companies - the FTX crypto exchange or trading firm Alameda Research - are considering bidding for some or all of Celsius’s assets.

Celsius’s token, Cel, jumped as much as 9.9 per cent on the development before retreating again, according to data from CoinGecko.

Bankman-Fried already scooped up the assets of bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital in an agreement valued at about US$1.4 billion. Earlier this year, FTX propped up the crypto platform BlockFi and was exploring a potential takeover of Robinhood Markets, in which Bankman-Fried owns a stake. He is estimated to own more than 50 per cent of FTX US, and almost all of Alameda.

Celsius’s chief executive officer Alex Mashinsky resigned Tuesday, and the company and its creditors are considering a slew of alternatives, ranging from restructuring to liquidation. In August, the company said it received multiple offers of fresh cash to help fund its restructuring process. BLOOMBERG