Ripple Is Exploring a Buyout of Celsius’ Assets

Ripple Labs is considering a potential purchase of assets from Celsius amidst the latter company’s bankruptcy process.

Ripple Considers Celsius Buyout

Ripple could purchase Celsius’ assets.

A Ripple spokesperson told Reuters today that the company is “interested in learning about Celsius and its assets, and whether any could be relevant to our business.”

The spokesperson went on to say that Ripple is “actively looking” for opportunities to carry out mergers and acquisitions that will “strategically scale the company.”

The spokesperson did not clarify whether Ripple would consider acquiring Celsius in its entirety. Furthermore, the spokesperson did not indicate whether Ripple is in discussions with Celsius. Celsius itself has not publicly commented on the matter.

Celsius was the first of many companies to become insolvent this summer when it shut down withdrawals on June 12. It then declared bankruptcy on July 13 and began to detail a recovery plan as bankruptcy proceedings began on July 18.

Ripple’s lawyers submitted three filings to participate in Celsius’ bankruptcy proceedings on August 5. However, those filings do not indicate why Ripple has become involved in the case or whether its involvement is related to its acquisition plans. Reuters says that Ripple is not a major creditor of Celsius.

It is unclear whether Celsius would accept such a deal. Nexo proposed a similar deal to Celsius in June but was rejected.

Celsius is not the only insolvent company that has received such offers. Last month, FTX proposed a joint plant that would see it acquire Voyager Digital’s assets and digital asset loans while compensating Voyager’s users. It was quickly rejected by Voyager despite the ongoing relationship between the two firms.

Other companies have been more receptive: Nexo offered to acquire Vauld in early July, and the two firms signed a contract to explore the possibility over a 60-day period.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.