Ripple Labs interested in bankrupt crypto lender Celsius’ assets

San Francisco-based blockchain payments company Ripple Labs Inc, which is embroiled in a high-profile battle with the U.S. securities regulator, is interested in potentially purchasing assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, according to Reuters.

„We are interested in learning about Celsius and its assets, and whether any could be relevant to our business,” the company’s spokesperson said, declining to say if Ripple was interested in acquiring Celsius outright.

Last week, lawyers for Ripple submitted filings to the bankruptcy court seeking to be represented in the proceedings. The court approved the filing earlier this week. Ripple is not among Celsius’ major creditors, Celsius’ bankruptcy filings show. 

At its peak in October 2021, CEO Alex Mashinsky said the crypto lender had $25 billion in assets under management. Now, Celsius is down to $167 million “in cash on hand,” which it says will provide “ample liquidity” to support operations during the restructuring process. Celsius owes its users around $4.7 billion, according to its bankruptcy filing.

That filing also shows that Celsius has more than 100,000 creditors, some of whom lent the platform cash without any collateral to back up the arrangement.