A cryptocurrency and blockchain business solutions company is hinting at acquiring assets of beleaguered crypto lender Celsius Network.
According to a report from Reuters, a Ripple spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said that the company is “interested” to know more about Celsius.
Acquiring assets of beleaguered crypto lender
“We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets, and whether any could be relevant to our business,” the spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson refused to give more details on whether the company was interested in wholly acquiring Celsius but added that they are “actively looking for M&A opportunities to scale the company strategically.”
Celsius was reported to have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022.
Celsius froze its assets in June reportedly due to “extreme market conditions.” The move was followed by a few other crypto companies as well.
Celsius’ bankruptcy documents stated that its assets consist of digital assets stored in custody accounts, debts, a Bitcoin mining operation, the company’s own CEL token, as well as bank cash and cryptocurrencies.
However, when weighed against its liabilities, Celsius still logged a $1.19 billion deficit on its balance sheet.
Ripple’s growth
On the other hand, Ripple was valued at $15 billion in January after the repurchase of Series C funding shares in December 2019. According to a July report, Ripple sold $408 million worth of XRP, its cryptocurrency, from April to June. The sale was a significant increase over the $273.27 million it sold in the previous quarter.
In 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple over XRP. The Commission alleges that Ripple and its current and former chief executives have been conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering by selling XRP. However, Ripple and its executives have denied the allegations arguing that XRP has traded and been used as a digital currency.