Sources tell The Block that Celsius is being assisted by Citigroup to assess its options following the abrupt halt in withdrawals by the crypto lender. Sources tell The Block that Citigroup is helping Celsius evaluate its options after the crypto lender abruptly stopped withdrawals.
Citigroup, a bank giant in banking, has been appointed by Celsius to help with possible solutions following the suspension of customer withdrawals by the crypto lender on Sunday. Two people familiarized with the matter told The Block.
Celsius hired Citigroup as an advisor, but it’s not like Citi will give Celsius money from their balance sheet,” one person said.
They said that Citigroup was advising Celsius on “potential financing” options.
According to the person, the investment bank is also offering advice to Celsius on offers like one from Nexo. Nexo offered Celsius its “remaining qualifying assets” earlier this week, mainly their collateralized loans portfolio. “
According to the source, Citigroup and Celsius have been friends for a while. According to the source, Celsius was also advised by Citigroup on its business and plans for an initial public offering (IPO).
Celsius Mining, its wholly owned bitcoin mining subsidiary, submitted confidentially a Form S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. Subject to market conditions, the registration statement will be effective once the SEC has completed its review.
Citigroup declined comment to The Block when it was contacted, and Celsius didn’t respond to a request to comment by press time.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Celsius also has hired restructuring lawyers from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP for advice on possible solutions. The Block reached out Akin Gump regarding the report, but did not receive a response by press time.
Extreme market volatility caused Celsius to stop withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts. The result was that the funds of its customers were frozen.
Celsius said Tuesday via Twitter that it was “working around-the-clock for our community.” Celsius stated earlier this week that it will share information when and where it is appropriate.
