Financial holding Goldman Sachs plans to raise $2 billion from investors to purchase the assets of the Celsius Network crypto lending platform in the event of bankruptcy. CoinDesk writes about this, citing sources knowledgeable on the subject.

According to the publication, the deal will allow investors to purchase Celsius holdings at a deep discount should the platform declare bankruptcy.

One of CoinDesk’s interlocutors said the bank is negotiating with cryptocurrency funds, structures focused on distressed capitalization, and traditional finance companies. Assets acquired under the potential deal “will be managed by those attending the fundraiser.”

As of May 2022, Celsius managed approximately $12 billion in assets and made loans to customers totaling $8.2 billion.

On June 24, The Wall Street Journal reported that Celsius has hired consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal to act as advisors in a possible bankruptcy filing. That same month, the newspaper reported that the company also brought in lawyers from Akın Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Earlier, journalists said Celsius has hired financial conglomerate Citigroup to find a possible solution to the problems that arose after customers’ assets were frozen.

CoinDesk sources noted that Akin Gump and Citigroup recommended that the platform accept bankruptcy.

News that Goldman Sachs is interested in Celsius’s assets has resonated with the community. Some thought this was a good signal for the industry, as the holding’s initiative removed the “contamination” of the cryptocurrency market.

The main market specific risk for bitcoin/crypto has been contagion.

We’ve now seen Blockfi + Voyager strike FTX strike deals and now Goldman has bought Celsius’s assets.

Any concerns with these firms have now been greatly alleviated and participants need to feel more comfortable.

– Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) 24 June 2022

“The main market risk for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is infection. We’ve seen FTX make deals with BlockFi and Voyager Digital, and now Goldman Celsius is buying the assets. Any concerns about these companies are now generally alleviated, members [индустрии] should feel more comfortable,” wrote William Clemente, Principal Analyst for Blockware Solutions.

However, not everyone shares this optimism. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes stressed that Goldman Sachs would never risk its own money “unless it says it directly”.

2/

GS does what advisory banks do, bringing together a group of investors and helping them structure the purchase of distressed assets for a phat fee.

— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) 24 June 2022

“Goldman Sachs does what all advisory banks do – it brings together a group of investors and helps them structure the purchase of distressed assets for a high fee,” he wrote.

Hayes acknowledged that if the deal goes through, the community can “rejoice” that Celsius customers will be able to withdraw their assets and get some of the lenders’ money back. In his view, this will restore confidence in the industry and give the necessary impetus to the development of the market.

“Any bailout action should be viewed as publicity stunts until real money arrives and real savers can withdraw some or all of their funds from bankrupt central crypto lenders,” he added.

Goldman Sachs isn’t the first to consider buying Celsius assets. In the middle of the month, the Nexo platform announced that it is ready to buy the loan portfolio of a competitor. On June 22, Chaine Finance introduced its “certain assets and liabilities” purchasing service.

Earlier, Simon Dixon, co-founder of online investment platform BnkToTheFuture, proposed a plan to save lending service Celsius Network, similar to Bitfinex’s recovery after the attack in 2016.

The venture then included the issuance of security tokens, debt financing and the use of equity. According to him, investors received “very high returns for the high risk they took.”

Following news of Goldman Sachs’ fundraising, Dixon turned to Nexo to contact the BnkToTheFuture team. He emphasized that the parties can offer the best solution together.

Let’s discuss @nexo – to reach @BankToTheFuture team or DM. we can do better @GoldmanSachs – let’s put something together for @CelsiusNetwork community that makes depositors good.

— Simon Dixon (Beware of Copycats) (@SimonDixonTwitt) 24 June 2022

As a reminder, five U.S. Securities Commissions have begun investigating Celsius’ suspension of customers’ withdrawals “on a priority” basis, according to Reuters.

Read ForkLog bitcoin news in our Telegram – cryptocurrency news, courses and analysis.