Coinbase and Gemini join Celsius sale to begin Tuesday

Two new consortiums have joined the auction of the assets of collapsed crypto lender Celsius, which is scheduled to take place in New York on April 25.

According to newly revealed court documents, Coinbase and Gemini are now among the companies participating in the bidding. Fahrenheit, which has the support of venture capital firm Arrington Capital owned by blockchain investor Michael Arrington, is another bidder. The consortium includes other participants such as Proof Group Capital Management, former Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos, and investment banker Ravi Kaza.

Another bidder consortium for Celsius assets is the Blockchain Recovery Investment Committee, backed by crypto exchange Gemini, fund manager VanEck, Bitcoin mining firm Global X Digital, and Plutus Lending.

Both consortiums are in dispute with the first bidder – NovaWulf Digital Management – over the Celsius assets. NovaWulf has already presented a plan and set a target for the other bidders. The company’s plan calls for a new company to be formed to take over operations and for former Celsius customers to get 70% of their money back.

Related: Celsius exits bankruptcy by accepting NovaWulf’s bid

According to Michael Arrington, a supporter of Fahrenheit’s bid, the firm also proposes the creation of a new company:

Our bid not structured as a simple asset purchase. We are proposing that the assets be placed into a new company and is run with the sole goal of growing those assets to make stakeholders whole.

The newly created company would be run by “proven crypto operators,” such as US Bitcoin Corp, Fahrenheit, and Proof Group:

6/ @USBitcoinCorp for bitcoin mining, ourselves & @njess (Proof Group) to run the venture portfolio, a large loan servicer with appropriate licensing to service customers in 50 states, a team of experts in quantitative trading strategies & risk management in tradfi and crypto…

— Michael Arrington (@arrington) April 22, 2023

Arrington adds:

Our plan at 50,000 foot level is to work to grow the asset base and and drive a full recovery to creditors and stakeholders.

The auction marks a significant milestone for Celsius customers trying to get their money returned. In July 2022, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and halted withdrawals, citing “extreme market conditions” amidst rumors of insolvency.